Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom
by wildrook
Summary: Basically, if I was ghost-writing for Kishimoto when he was focusing on Sasuke. No parings yet. Omake ideas wanted.
1. Confessions of the Ninth Vessel

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 1: Confessions of a Human Sacrifice.

(A/n: This is basically the result of resentment for Kishimoto's tendencies. If anything, it's set during Shipuuden after Sasuke and his crew join Akatsuki, yet it begins in Konoha after dark.).

----

Inside the Hokage Tower, Tsunade was sleeping after looking over paperwork and drinking sake, although it's more than the usual amount this time. Why? Because of the casualties listed, one of them being her friend Jiraiya and another the Akatsuki double-agent Itachi, who was killed by Sasuke himself. Add the stress of Sasuke joining Akatsuki, the Council forbidding her to mark him as a Missing Nin, and the pressure the Raikage's giving her, she's basically plastered for a month.

However, the news she'll get tonight will possibly make her get more sake…and a couple painkillers, both of them provided by tonight's visitor.

Waking up to see who it was, she was surprised, yet pissed. "It's four-o-clock in the morning, gaki," she said.

"I know," the man said, "and you're going to need the painkillers for what I'm about to tell you."

Even at night, the orange still shines brightly. Naruto had taken it into factor.

"If it's about who your parents are…"

"I already know that." She was surprised. "And I'm not asking for my heritage either, since it would anger the Council that they're giving the Yondaime's heirlooms and weaponry to the Demon Child."

Sure enough, she had noticed the blue glow. "Since when did you learn the Privacy Jutsu?"

"That is basically the reason why I wanted to talk to you, because you've been sleeping since nine pm yesterday. Early morning is basically when the night shift arrives, but they didn't make it due to the newbies being hazed."

_That explains why they were unmoving,_ Tsunade thought. _The gaki's probably planned this out since after he and Team Eight got wind of the news on Akatsuki._ "So, you made two Shadow Clones to act as new ANBU guards? Very crafty for a Genin, but that still doesn't change the fact that you still need two teammates to enter the Chuunin Exams."

"I know, but it's not that either. It's basically what really happened on the training trip."

Tsunade was stunned, so to speak. It was basically the reason why he brought the sake (other than the fact that he turned sixteen a month and a half ago), because she wouldn't believe what came out next.

"Well, enlighten me, Naruto. If you were smart enough to pose as two ANBU guards, make a privacy jutsu, AND get me sake, it's probably unbelievable."

Naruto had sighed. "It started at the border of Fire Country when Jiraiya, Kami rest his soul, had started asking questions."

(Flashback. Naruto's POV)

_I was still upset that Sasuke had defeated me, but Jiraiya was as wise as he was perverted, as we all know. And I was wearing the brighter orange jumpsuit at the time._

"_Gaki," he said, "you can put down the mask. This is as far as they can see us within the country."_

"_What do you mean, Pervy Sage?" I asked him._

"_Drop the act, Naruto. There's no way that someone like you can stay happy with that much pain within him."_

_I was a bit surprised that Jiraiya found out about my mask of stupidity, so I faltered. "How long have you known?"  
_

"_Since the battle against Gaara, kid. You've been hiding your true strength for quite a while, but you barely grasped the surface of hard work." However, what he said next changed my life forever. "Before we begin, we need to test your chakra affinity."_

"_You mean check which element my Chakra leans toward the most?"_

_"Yup. If anything, I might tell you everything when we get to our first destination." With that, he showed me a small slip of paper. "All you have to do is pump your chakra into this piece of paper. Ash means fire, moisture means paper, split means wind, dirt means earth, and crumbling means lightning. You got that?"_

_I nodded. With that, I began pumping my chakra into the paper, and it not only turned to dirt, split in two, and moisten, it felt solid, froze, and I swore I felt a splinter._

"_What gives, Pervy Sage? I nearly felt pain into doing that!"_

_Apparently, his surprised look was enough to know that I was something else. "It's not every day that you see someone with three elements at their disposal, and all three of them can merge with each other."_

"_You didn't answer my question, Pervy Sage. What was that?"_

_"You have not only the wind affinity, but the earth and water affinities as well. What you felt was them merging into mixed elements with special properties. Wood, as you know, was the Shodaime's specialty, ice was from Kirigakure before the blood wars, and sand happens to be used by the Ichibi."_

_In other words, I had the Shodaime's, Haku's, and Gaara's elements in my disposal._

"_Now, we need to get to our first destination in order to train you in the elemental jutsu. If anything, I'll teach you some of the non-elemental ones."_

"Wait a second, Pervy Sage," I said, "how does this signify my identity? I don't get why I have all three of them, yet was unaware of it."  


"_This coming from the boy who painted the Hokage Monument undetected? I told you, I'll explain it when we get there, but we need to go by boat. Not even the Water Walking exercise can take us to your destination, and the nearest harbor happens to be Wave Island."_

"_Alright, but before we go, I have to fufill a promise I made during my first C-Rank mission and pay my respects to an old friend."_

"_It's okay with me. If anything, you've been planning that when you got there."_

(Pause Flashback)

"I've read about that report," Tsunade said. "Wasn't it the one where you made a vow not to kill the innocent?"

"And the first time I met someone who shared the same pain I did," Naruto replied. "However, I didn't exactly get the name of our first destination until midway through the ride."

(Resume Flashback)

_I was basically looking out towards the ocean while Tazuna was on the rudder._

"_Tazuna," I said, "where did the Pervy Sage say we were going?"_

"_Basically an island where a select few know how to navigate the hazards," he replied, "myself being one of them. If anything, I'm using the back route because of the Whirlpools that surround it, hence the name Whirlpool Island."_

"_Or Uzugakure no Sato for the Ninjas living there," Jiraiya said, exiting the cabin. "Tazuna, is it okay if I talk to Naruto for a bit?"_

_"Of course."_

_With that, we both went into the cabin and Jiraiya had done a sound-proof jutsu around it._

"_What is it, Pervy Sage?" I asked him._

_Ignoring that comment, he had sighed. "Naruto, do you know what being Hokage means?"_

"_Learning over a thousand jutsu, protecting the village, and running the place. Other than that, nothing."_

"_That's basically the surface of the title. To become Hokage, you have to make tough decisions regarding the future of Konoha, even if it means sacrificing those you love with your own life."_

_I've known Jiraiya to go into deep thought, but apparently, he seemed to be in pain at the mention of it. "What are you getting at?"_

"_To answer that question, you have to answer this one: Why did the Fourth choose you as the jailer of the Nine-Tailed Fox? Why not someone like an Uchiha or a Hyuga?"_

_That thought never came to mind, but the answer was in reach. I just wasn't sure if it was the right one. "Because he wouldn't risk anyone else's child to bare the burden. In order to make it work, he'd have to use…his own…child."_

_I think you can imagine the reaction on my face when I found that out._

"_How long have you known, Jiraiya?"_

"_I'm your Godfather, Naruto. And someone like me wouldn't exactly be good father material…"_

_"…so you left me to rot in the village?!?"_

"_I was under the Third's law not to adopt you! He had no idea you would be undertrained!"_

_"Under-trained my ass! Why couldn't you tell me before we left?"_

_"Because I knew you would react this way! Better out in the middle of the ocean than near Konoha, because anything relating to you is basically a Triple-S Class Secret! Only me and Sarutobi-Sensei were the only ones who knew, not counting Itachi Uchiha."_

_I had froze. "Why Itachi, then?"_

"_Because he owed your father his life. He's in Akatsuki as one of my contacts, and his mission is to keep you away from it and Sasuke away from the leader, although THAT part of the mission failed when he got to Orochimaru."_

"_How so?"_

"_Orochimaru knows the leader personally, Gaki. If anything, he's the man who killed the Shodaime."_

_It was a bit much to deal with, but I broke off the subject. "What were my parents like, Pervy Sage? I want the truth, not some half-baked lie."_

_His expression softened. "Your dad was basically an upstart Chuunin when I met him. He was working on the Rasengan, and I almost vowed to not take any more students until I heard him practice. If anything, you remind me of him, other than the looks. Your mother, however, wasn't from Konoha, but from Uzu, aka, our destination. Basically, she was a bit of a tomboy when it came to her attitude, and when they were dating, she had picked off all of his fangirls. When she was pregnant with you, they couldn't have been any happier. She had already started making a list of Water Jutsu for you to learn…but when Kyuubi came, everything went to hell. You already know what happened to your father, but your mother was assassinated after giving birth to you. Had she still been alive, you would've at least been an enemy to the Uchiha."_

"_Would they have been proud of me?"_

_"You made better progress with the Shadow Clone technique than your father did on your first try, managed to outdo his pranking record by painting the Hokage Monument, and you learned the Rasengan in a week. I could say they would be proud, but your mother would tell you to get rid of the orange."_

_I had silently snickered at that._

"_By the way, your parents' names were Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, although Minato had used the alias Arashi Kazama outside of Konoha."_

_I then decided to make a decision. "Looks like I have another reason to become Hokage, then, Pervy Sage. Not only will I learn the amount of Jutsu, protect the village, and show them that I'm not the Fox, but I'll stop Akatsuki and make my parents proud! However, I may have to keep the idiot mask up until the time is right, because all Konoha knows is the mask, not the true me."_

"_Then congrats on following the rule of Deception, gaki. If anything, it's been a good ally, but the orange screams 'Kill Me.' Now, I'm going to teach you the secret of the Shadow Clones."_

(Pause Flashback)

"If anything," Naruto added, "it's why I'm wearing Black and Orange, although it's still a glaring color."

"Anyone with a migraine could see the orange," Tsunade replied, taking a sip. "So, what happened when you got to Uzugakure?"

"Basically, I met up with an old student of my Mom's. Apparently, he knows Kakashi during the Rock-Leaf War and is a master of not only my Mom's jutsu, but his family taijutsu and summoning contracts."

"Hang on." With that, she had taken out a Bingo Book containing dangerous ninja. "Basically a Whirlpool Jounin who keeps a set of normal summoning tattoos on one arm and either a deity or demonic one on the other, has as much endurance as you do when being beaten in a crowd, and has an undying hatred of Uchihas. Akito Ryuken the Blood Hunter, correct?"

Naruto was a bit surprised at that. "How did you know?"

"I've been there before, gaki. It was a pain to update the Bingo Book, though, and since your Mom and Dad had met as diplomats, it would be logical that Kushina's best student would teach you. Now please, continue."

(Resume Flashback)

_You wouldn't believe how we first met. Jiraiya said that he had to do some research, much to my belief, and I waited near the docks for him to arrive. With that, I had noticed that a kunai had struck right beside me._

"_**DYNAMIC ENTRY!**__" I heard a voice yell. I had jumped out of the way as he landed in a way I've seen Gai did when mistaking the Pervy Sage for Kisame. "Not bad for a guy wearing orange."_

_"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?" I yelled. "You could have killed me!"_

"_Geez…not so loud, kid. It was just a simple test of reflexes." If that was considered simple, I would've hated to see harsh. "Now, I'm assuming you're Naruto, then?"_

_"What other Konoha Ninja wears orange?" I asked him sarcastically. "Seriously, though, what do you want from me?"_

_"One, to see if the village was holding you back, two, because I wanted to meet Sensei's kid for the first time, and three, because I'm your instructor thanks to the Perverted Hermit and his spy network."_

_I was surprised. "You're Akito Ryuken?"_

_"The one and only. What, did you expect me to be two hours late like Kakashi?"_

"_You know Kakashi-sensei?"_

_"Know him? We were temporary partners after Obito died, and he and I were like water and oil by first impression." He gave me a blank stare at that. "I hate Uchihas with a passion, kid, but Obito was an exception considering he acted like you."_

"_But why do you hate Uchihas?"_

_"That answer and more will be revealed…if you can keep up with the Ryuken style of training."_

_As it turns out, the Ryuken style of training equaled something similar to Boot Camp from Hell. Our routine was that he does early-morning reflex training on me, we spar in taijutsu, learn a different ninjutsu that's Water-based, Wind-based, or Ice-based, harness your inner beast's abilities (more on that later), and learn either the Whirlpool Fist or the Saint Soldier Style of taijutsu, but started with the Iron Fist._

(Pause Flashback)

"Must have been one heck of an experience," Tsunade said. "The Ryuken family has been known to harness an Inner Beast within them, but why did he make you harness Kyuubi's power?"

"That answer was given to me about a month within the training."

(Resume Flashback)

_Akito had noticed my reluctance._

"_Why are you holding back?" he asked me._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_If anything, your abilities should be enhanced BECAUSE of the Kyuubi. Why hold back?"  
_

_I had told him about my run-in with Gaara during the Chuunin Exams and how his Biju was controlling him._

"_Oh, you ran into someone with a faulty seal, and you're afraid of ending up like him if you use it."_

_"Faulty seal?"_

"_I trained with Minato as a Joint Sensei, remember? If anything, his seal prowess is unmatched, so you're in good hands, Naruto. However, this Gaara guy sounds like he had someone who didn't know what he was doing."_

"_Doesn't exactly help there, Akito-Sensei."_

"_Listen to me. When I was your age, I feared the same thing when Byakko had chosen me to be his vessel. As I matured, I found out that he was protecting me from the near-assassination and kidnapping attempts from the Mizukage and Orochimaru. Right now, they don't even know I exist."_

"_I don't exactly have that luxury."_

"_Well, Kyuubi had healed you after the mob attempts, poisonings, and all the other stuff that Konoha threw at you. However, there's more to a demon that it's reputation."_

"_What's that?"_

_"Ask him yourself. Right now, the lesson is over. Spend the rest of the day in intensive meditation, Naruto." With that, he left the training grounds._

_Sitting on a nearby stump, I had done the basic steps of it and found myself in a dark sewer. Feeling the demonic chakra, I followed it to the source, which was the Nine-Tailed Fox himself._

"_**About time you got here, Gaki,**__" it said. "__**Seems like your temp sensei has made you stronger."**_

"_Cut the crap, Kyuubi," I said. "If anything, I want answers on why you attacked Konoha."_

"_**I've got a perfectly good explanation on why I attacked, and it's linked to the tiger's hatred for the Uchiha Clan.**__" I was confused at that part, but since Akatsuki wants him, I needed an answer before we moved to Sunagakure._

"_Start talking, then. And no funny stuff. Your kind is known as the trickster for a reason."_

"_**I couldn't lie to you even if I wanted to. We're stuck together whether you like it or not, so get comfortable.**__" At that, I had made a chair from the thoughts of my mind. "__**I don't know how it happened, but while I was tending to my den, I had found myself facing a man with an orange mask with one eye hole and a cloak with red clouds and a bloody moon. Because I didn't know who he was, I had attacked without asking questions, but I recognized the eye he had. The very same eye I had created.**__"_

"_Dare I ask what kind of eye it was?"_

"_**Blood-red cornea with three commas around it, but that's not the point. Because of that eye, I had attacked your village in a blind range, looking for those who carried the eyes. Had it not been for those idiotic ninja and the Fourth Hokage, neither of us would be in this situation.**__"_

_I was a bit surprised, but since I knew Sasuke left for power, he had overlooked Kyuubi. "Sounds like you and I have a common enemy, Kyuubi." He was surprised at that…or I thought he was a he at the time. "If anything, because of the Uchiha clan, I have a scar that looked like it was struck by lightning!"_

"_**I know that already! It took an all-nighter to take care of THAT wound! I'm just surprised that he didn't go within your mind…then again, you were unconscious.**__"_

"_Why the heck are you concerned about my well-being, anyways? I know we're stuck together, but it sounds like you actually care."_

_Because of that question, I was in for the shock of my life. The Kyuubi…the Nine-Tailed Fox that ravaged Konoha…was a woman._

"_**They never could go beyond their bias to consider whether I was male or female, now couldn't they?**__"_

_Had he known, the Pervy Sage would've had a field day with this one._

"_Wow…" I said. I then pulled myself together before I became like him. "Sorry about that. If anything, we need to stop clashing in order to defeat our enemies, and with the bias in Konoha, that would be those who overstep their boundaries."_

"_**Agreed, kit. Luckily, I have the Fox Contract with me right now, so we can work this out. In return, I can teach you the Fox Illusion style, which is a genjutsu style based on my Chakra.**__"_

_After that, I had continued my regiment with Akito until the sixth month, when we were heading towards Sunagakure._

(End Flashback)

"And you're telling me this because you trust me?" Tsunade said, rubbing her forehead. Naruto had nodded. "And the facade…how long do you plan to keep this up?"

"Until I become Chuunin, which reminds me, when are the Chuunin Exams starting?"

"In a week. Until then, I need to work on the paperwork to get you on a team with an empty spot. In the meantime, whatever you said right now is a Triple-S Class Secret, the painkillers were given to me by Shizune, and the Sake is from trade with an unknown village."

Naruto nodded, and went out of the office.

_Forget Chuunin, gaki,_ she thought. _If what you said was true, you could make Tokubetsu Jounin._

----

Hours later, Naruto was basically in a good mood.

_Feels good to get THAT off my chest_, he thought. _Now we don't have to worry about suspicion from the Hokage._

"**Don't forget about the Council**," Kyuubi said. "**If anything, I don't think ALL of them hold you in contempt.**"

_No kidding. Grampa Saru's old teammates and Danzo want me to become a weapon of war, and they'll do anything to get me. As for the Civilian Side of the Council, they can go to hell for all I care._ However, Naruto stopped in his tracks, recognizing the smell of cigarettes. _Strange. I thought Asuma was killed by Hidan…unless…_

"Shikamaru, you can come out now," Naruto said to the shadow.

"Troublesome," a man in a Jounin Vest said, coming out. Unlike the last time they met, Shikamaru became motivated after his Sensei's death and started picking up his habits…including the one involving cancer sticks. "If you were that good already, why didn't you defeat Kakuzu without something that ruptures your chakra points?"

"Not in public, please. The less people know about me, the better."

Sure enough, they had moved to the Team Seven training grounds.

"To answer your question, Shikamaru, I wasn't exactly stable when I did it. First, Grampa Saru died, then Asuma fell. I may not have known the guy for long, but I could feel the pain Konohamaru had at the funeral. The Rasenshruiken was the only option going through my mind at the time. Anyways, why are you tracking me down?"

"Kakashi's out on a mission and Yamato's training Sakura, so I'm stuck with you for the time being. Hokage's orders, so I have no say in it. When we're done sparring, I can introduce you to your other two teammates."

"Talk about a paradox. Then again, we left around the time of Sunagakure's Chuunin Exam, and I had missed it." With that, Naruto entered an unfamiliar style. "I hope you've trained as much as I have over the years."

"In order to keep up with you, I didn't have a choice."

With that, a fight between old classmates had began…and the Maelstrom stopped holding back.

To be continued…

----

Omake 1: Restricted Summons (slight Futurama Crossover).

On their way to Sunagakure, Naruto had been trying to master the art of Toad Summoning by studying Jiraiya's summoning class scrolls. Needless to say, he was pissed.

"Stupid Pervy Sage," he muttered. "I'm not exactly good with books here, but in order to become the next Toad Sage, I have to study the type of class they're in."

Yeah. Really pissed.

It wasn't until he came across a scroll that said RESTRICTED that it perked his interest.

_Not all toads are meant for personal use. Some of them happen to be very forceful when it comes to demands...I broke into the Hokage Tower stealing the Forbidden Scrolls. If there's a reason why this scroll is restricted, why not go through trial and error?_

Near the Hot Spring, the Toad Sage had felt impending doom.

_Something tells me that the gaki had found the restricted summons,_ he thought. _Should I stop him before it gets hairy, or let him learn the hard way?_ However, he was distracted by a gorgeous female, and when it comes to Jiraiya, women, and research, the latter was chosen.

In the meantime, Naruto had used enough Chakra to summon it. "**SUMMONING JUTSU!**" In a poof of smoke, a small brown frog with yellow vibrating eyes had appeared...with a certain tune. "Okay...I was thinking you would be as big as Gamabunta.

Before it could retort, an Iwa nin had jumped out of the bushes.

"Prepare to die, Yellow Flash!" he yelled. However, he stopped when he saw the toad...and lost his sense of freedom in the process. "All glory to the Hypnotoad."

_Hypnotoad, huh? Hmm..._

"I'm surprised you weren't affected, gaki," Jiraiya said, appearing out of nowhere. "If anything, this effect was the reason why I put the Hypnotoad summon on the Restricted list."

"Sorry, Pervy Sage," he replied, ignoring Jiraiya's growl. "But you know me well enough to go through Trial and Error. Besides, I think we might make a little visit to Otogakure with this guy."

Jiraiya was grinning at that. "Let's get moving, then!"

It wasn't until three days later that Otogakure was screaming bloody murder. Simply put, when you put the Hypnotoad in a village full of snakes, weird shit happens, but to narrow it down, Sasuke had to take enough cold showers to classify it as holy water, Kabuto has a fear of bran muffins, and Orochimaru found himself in a (shudder) revealing hula girl outfit...with his hair dyed in a glaring shade of pink than Sakura Haruno's own.

_Jiraiya had something to do with this, _he thought. _Only he could create so much chaos with just one summon._

The glaring hint was that all around the Sound Base, the graffiti had said, "All Glory to the Hypnotoad, The Kyuubi, and the Toad Sage." Needless to say, if he wasn't in the process of merging with Kimimaro, he would hunt down and destroy them himself.

Sometimes, it just sucked to be a villian.

As for why the Hypnotoad didn't hypnotize Naruto, well...

**"MUST OBEY THE HYPNOTOAD."**

Yeah. Individuals with either a lack of delta brain wave or have an inner demon within them aren't affected by it. Because of that, Akatsuki was not only after the Kyuubi, but it as well.


	2. Evaluate, Bonding, and WTF?

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 2: Evaluation and Revelations.

(A/n: I had already started a poll on who else would know, but some choices are missing. Why? Because Hinata's a stalker, Sakura's reformed, Kurenai's taking care of Konohamaru and her kid, and I don't know Ibiki and Genma well enough to COUNT them in. And I don't want biased votes. I'm not good with romance.)

----

"Good morning, Tsunade-Sama," Sakura said, entering the room. "I'm guessing the paperwork's still flowing?"

"Somewhat," the Hokage replied. "That, and I had a surprise visitor early in the morning."

"Is it Naruto?"

"Obviously. Apparently, Jiraiya had left out a LOT of details on the training trip."

Sakura was confused. "How much did he leave out?"

"He's still dead-set on bringing the Uchiha back, but not as much for you as it is to open Konoha's eyes. If anything, he's in Training Ground 7 with Shikamaru for his evaluation. You'll be able to see his true progress there."

Although she was speechless, she couldn't help but be curious. "I'll check it out right away, then."

"One more thing, Hinata's already there."

_That's not surprising_, Sakura thought as she left the tower. _Still, has Naruto been holding back?_

"**IF HE WAS,**" Inner Sakura said, "**THEN WE OWE HIM AN APOLOGY FOR FORCING THAT PROMISE ONTO HIM.**"

_Right. Since Sasuke joined Akatsuki, Konoha's leaning further into self-destruction, and I know about his fuzzy little problem to add to it._

Sure enough, Tsunade was right. Hinata was watching them.

Within the battle, Shikamaru and Naruto decided to go with weapon combat, although the Trench Knives were more durable than Naruto's Kunai.

"You REALLY need to get a new set," Shikamaru said. "Those things look like they could break any day."

"You wouldn't believe where I went to get these enhanced, Shika," Naurto said. "**CLONE EXPLOSION!**" With that, the Naruto Shikamaru was facing had blown up in his face.

_Good thing I put it out when I had the chance_, Shikamaru thought. _Otherwise, I would've bit the dust. Let's see…knowing Naruto, he's probably got a thousand shadow clones hiding around here, so I can't waste chakra. However, he's basically going over my weakness, and he saw me fight in the Chuunin Exams._

"**DID YOU SEE THAT?!?**" Inner Sakura yelled. _I'm not decieved. Apparently, Naruto exploited Shikamaru's weakness in Shadow Combat, and if he had used his Shadow Grab Jutsu, Shikamaru would've instantly lost due to a miscalculation._ "**THAT MEANS NARUTO WASN'T AS MUCH OF AN IDIOT AS WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.**"

"This is getting really troublesome, Naruto," Shikamaru said. "Why didn't you finish me off with it?"

"I did it in order to give you a fighting chance, Shika," Naruto said from all around the forest. "And you're probably thinking that I have around a thousand Shadow Clones positioned in this area, but here's a tip: Don't look for the shadows when they're all around you."

With that, two Narutos had appeared from the tree Shikamaru was hiding in and grabbed him.

"How the…"

"**Forest Style: Camouflage Jutsu,**" Naruto said, appearing in front of him. "It's basically a modified ninjutsu version based off of the Shodaime's wood jutsu and my worst subject. Now, you have two choices: Give up the information you have or die."

Shikamaru was surprised at this. Then he said, "I surrender, Naruto."

With that, the two Narutos had blown up…revealing water everywhere.

"And that was a technique created from the Clone Explosion Jutsu, **Water Bomb Jutsu.** Other than that, it's basically like what would happen if I was an enemy planning to turn over Konoha's control to Iwa."

"**SHANNRO!**" Sakura yelled, making Naruto flinch. "Naruto, you are SO DEAD FOR RUINING MY CLOTHES!"

"Eh…hi, Sakura," Naruto nervously said. _Looks like that jutsu still needs work._

----

After a beating later, Naruto had healed most of his wounds.

"How was I supposed to know you were in the area?" Naruto asked both Sakura and Hinata. "As a matter of fact, how did you even find out?"

"Tsunade-Sempai hinted it to me," Sakura said. "As for Hinata, well…"

"You were great, Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "Although I would've done without the excess water, I don't know how you were able to make water out of thin air."

"He didn't get it from the air," Shikamaru said. "Both Water Clones were hiding in the trees, and he led me to think that he was all around the forest."

"That's basically strange," Sakura said, "if it wasn't Naruto that was doing it."

"Can you give me a break?" Naruto asked her. "I'm not exactly used to showing my true self to anyone. If anything, some of the Jutsu I made require intense Chakra Control, but most of them happen to be made by my parents. And yes, I know who they are, but I can't tell you for security reasons."

"Makes sense," Shikamaru said. "Now, I have to warn you, your fellow Genin teammates happen to have lost a teammate in the last Chuunin Exam, so they're counting on you to survive."

"Are you forgetting who you're talking to?"

"My mistake. Oh, and they're twin girls around your age, so it's going to be troublesome."

The females in the vicinity had one of two reactions:

A) Either go into depression (Hinata); or

B) Build up with rage inside (Sakura).

"The Pervy Sage must be rolling in his grave," Naruto said.

In Heaven, surprisingly, a white-haired hermit sneezed.

Back on Earth, Naruto had his bruises gone.

"So, who are they and what would I expect from them?"

"I haven't gotten the memo yet, but they seem to be capable Kunoichi. How they appeared in the roster out of nowhere is beyond me."

"If you'll excuse us," Sakura said, "Hinata and I will be heading towards the Hokage Tower to speak with her about this unexpected development." Sure enough, they had run towards it in blinding speed…well, Sakura did. Hinata was carried.

All the two had to do now was wait.

----

Near the Hokage Mansion, Sakura was fuming while Hinata was confused.

"Doesn't the Hokage usually stay at the tower?" the shy Hyuga had asked her.

"Normally," she replied, "but Shizune's taking her place, but we're not here to see her on a friendly basis. I just want to know what the hell went through her mind when she made that order!"

"What about the ANBU guards?"

"Who gives a damn? All I know is Naruto is being paired up with two female Genin that are probably going to seduce him and leave him for dead in the Forest of Death!"

With that, there was a screeching halt.

"You're right, Sakura," Hinata said, to her surprise. "We need to speak with Hokage-Sama…but what happened during the retrieval?"

Sakura sighed. She knew she was going to face the music later. "Sasuke changed, Hinata. The loyal shinobi had changed during the two-and-a-half years Naruto was gone, and I kept kicking myself over it because of that damned promise I had him make! What's worse is that he joined the organization that wants Kyuubi for world domination and the Civilian Council is ignoring that! I just can't stand to let this fly any further!"

"Basically, you're more focused now."

"More than ever, but I can't find the right way to…" However, Sakura realized something was off. "Okay, why haven't you asked about Kyuubi being inside Naruto?"

"Blame Mizuki," Hinata replied. "If anything, he muttered Demon Fox in class once, and I couldn't help but take a peek at Naruto's chakra coils. Neji saw the same thing in the Chuunin Exams, remember?"

"And you admire him because he had a fate worse than being the failure of a well-known clan and liked his smile. It makes sense, but why didn't you tell him how you feel?"

"Because of the pressure built on me as the Heiress of the Hyuga Clan. My father approves of it, but the Hyuga Council is nothing but a bunch of old geezers who can't see past their pride."

"And you wore a mask like Naruto in order to hide it. Figures that you two were meant to be together, but I can't interfere with it."

"Actually, you CAN share him with me."

Sakura was dumbfounded at that request. "Say what?"

Hinata groaned at that. "And you're supposed to be the bookworm. It's the Clan Restoration Act, Sakura. With the display Naruto-Kun showed us, it proves that he's got the blood of the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages, which makes him eligible. And how I know is because the old fools tried to engage me with Sasuke."

"Alright, but on two conditions: One, get rid of the Icha Icha stash you probably stole from Neji, and two, I can't exactly share him with a complete stranger."

"That's no problem, then. I don't even have one to begin with."

And that is how the Maelstrom Resistance was born.

----

Around thirty minutes ago, back at Training Ground 7…

"How are you able to deal with this, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked him.

"I basically had to pull up my mask and bother Sasuke and Sakura," he replied, "but it seems this isn't the case this time. Besides, if they don't show up in an hour and thirty minutes, I'm outta here."

They didn't have to wait any longer, because from the trees, the two women revealed themselves to the two boys…er, teens.

The slightly older one was a red-head with bandages over her head and a flute by her side. The younger one was a bit of a shocker to Naruto.

"Haku?" Naruto asked the woman. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

Shikamaru, however, recognized the red-head. "Kami, you are such a troublesome bitch."

"What was that, pineapple head?" the redhead asked him.

"Not you."

"It's been a long time, Naruto-Kun."

"But…but…HOW?!?" Naruto asked her. "Kakashi stabbed you in the chest with a Raikiri when we last met!"

"There's actually a funny story behind that. In actuality, I had popped in a soldier pill, replenishing my chakra in order to self-regenerate after that particularly fatal stab wound."

"That's the thing that confuses me. I doubt that you can be alive when the word 'fatal' is in the same sentence."

"And what about you?" Shikamaru asked Tayuya. "Didn't I kill you while Naruto was retrieving Sasuke?"

"I was half-dead when they found me! Both the Ice Queen here and the woman with the purple markings found me under the trees."

"Wait," Naruto said. "I think I met her once. Her name was Rin, right?" Tayuya nodded. "That explains why the Cursed Seal is missing. You were near the border of life and death and Rin gave you a second chance. Orochimaru never knew it since he retrieved Kimimaro's body."

Huh…let's see if both Hinata and Sakura found out about this.

"Say WHAT!?!" they both yelled when they saw the papers.

"You heard me," Tsunade said. "Apparently, the casualties were near-fatal, and since Rin had brought them to me, I did what I could."

Sakura had read Haku's bio…and noticed something. "I think your charts are off. Haku's a male."

"Considering your physique, you'd do the same thing," Hinata muttered. "And am I reading this right? She's an Otogakure double-agent?"

"Up until Orochimaru's death," Tsunade said. "If anything, they might not be romantically interested in Naruto due to personal reasons."

Back to the training ground…

_I hate this part_, Shikamaru thought. "Okay, in order to function better as a team, we need to know each other better. Anyways, my name is Shikamaru Nara. Up until recently, my dislike was to train my arse off, and my likes are still playing Shogi and Go, cloud watching, and hanging out with my friends and former teammates. Dreams…well, to become one of the Twelve Guardians of the Fire Lord and to follow in my sensei's footsteps."

_Asuma's death hit Shikamaru more than I thought,_ Naruto thought. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, as some of you already know. My likes are eating ramen, training in my skills, making new jutsu, and playing pranks in order to raise village security. My dislikes are those who treat their teammates worse than trash, traitors, those who can't tell the difference between a kunai and a sealed scroll with said kunai within it, and the three minutes it takes to cook instant ramen. Hobbies are pranking, training, and learning about the Toad Sage arts my late Sensei left me. My dream is to become Hokage in order to show them that I'm not dangerous."

_Naruto HAS matured,_ Shikamaru thought. _If anything, he'll be Hokage with a firm head and resolve, and if possible, I could help him out._

"Back up for a minute," Tayuya said. "Your last name is Uzumaki?"

"Mother's maiden name, actually," he replied. "Why?"

"Well, you're about to be thrown into a loop here. My name's Tayuya Uzumaki, and my likes are music, enhancing my Genjutsu, and my family. My dislikes are Sasuke Uchiha for taking my younger sister with him, Orochimaru for obvious reasons, and Kabuto Yakushi for hitting on me. Hobbies include sheet-writing flute music and trying out new variations of Genjutsu. My dream is half-completed with you here, bro."

_Didn't see that coming,_ Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kyuubi thought simultaneously.

"My name's Haku Senju," Haku said. "My likes happen to be honoring Zabuza's memory, medical jutsu, and confusing my opponents about my true gender. My dislikes happen to be Suigetsu for taking Zabuza-sama's sword, those who fear what they don't understand, and the Mizukage. Hobbies include therapeutic massage, acupuncture, and being a field medic. My dream is to make Zabuza-sama proud."

"Senju, huh?" Naruto asked her. "What's odd is that I've got the Ice Element within me as well, but I haven't figured out if it's because of the unnatural alignment with Wind and Water or that you're also related to the Senju Clan."

"Both, actually. Other than that, it's good to actually find that other possibility."

Naruto remembered those words well. _"Had you and I known each other beforehand, we could have been friends."_

"Now that we know each other better," Shikamaru said, "I don't think there's a point of doing a Genin test considering that crunch time is approaching. If anything, I'm only a newer Jounin, so I don't have anything to teach you."

"Figures," Tayuya said. "I was hoping to get revenge with that encounter in the Forest. I REALLY didn't want to hurt you."

"Is that sarcasm?" Naruto said, jokingly.

"Lucky for you, gaki, we have catching up to do. Otherwise, I would've taken you out right here and now."

_It's official,_ Shikamaru thought. _Naruto's whole family is troublesome._ "While you three are family bonding, I'm nominating you guys for the Exam. See ya." Shikamaru then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What happened to your old jumpsuit?" Haku asked Naruto.

"Let's just say that training with the Sand mixed element is a LOT rougher than Wood and Ice. I don't know how Gaara does it. As for this one, it's basically a cover-up for what I have in my apartment."

"About that," Tayuya said, "we moved you out of that shithole and into Mom's vacation house since your name isn't official."

"It's not that bad," Naruto said.

"I saw a giant Cockroach that I mistook as a Ninja summon. How can that NOT be neat?"

Naruto had laughed lightly. _Forget females alone, Shikamaru. Those who are RELATED to me are troublesome._

Shikamaru had sneezed on his way to the Hokage Tower. _Someone must be using my gimmick._

To be continued…

----

Omake 2: Kami's Gender Confusion.

Shikamaru, however, recognized the redhead as the crazy Genjutsu woman of the Sound Four that almost killed him. "Kami, you are such a troublesome bitch."

Before Tayuya could retort, Shikamaru was struck by lightning.

"**THERE'S MORE OF THAT WHERE THIS CAME FROM IF YOU KEEP MISTAKING ME AS A FEMALE!" **A booming voice said.

Naruto groaned. "Had to learn the hard way, didn't you?"

Shikamaru coughed out smoke. "That explains Sasuke's longer screen time."

--

Omake 3: Cockroach Summon?

"It's not that bad," Naruto said, referring to his apartment.

"I saw a giant Cockroach that I mistook as a Ninja summon," Tayuya said. "How can that NOT be neat?"

_Oh no,_ Naruto thought in fear. _Please, don't let it be what I think it is…_ "By any chance did it have sunglasses on it?"

In her confusion, Tayuya said, "Yeah. Why?"

Naruto had used the Shunshin Jutsu to race towards the Hokage Tower, leaving two confused Kunoichi at his antics.

"What was that all about?"

She got her answer when the alarms blared and everyone in Konoha had fled the village. It happened only once before, and that was sixteen years ago when Kyuubi attacked. However, this kind of development was enough to make all nine Biju shit themselves.

"RED ALERT! RED ALERT! THE ABURAME ARE PISSED! I REPEAT, THE ABURAME ARE PISSED! EVACUATE THE VILLAGE IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"I fucked up, didn't I?" Tayuya asked Haku, staring at the hordes of giant bugs that are appearing from the Aburame hive.

"Yup," she replied.

--

(A/n: In my opinion, I think the last Omake is funnier than the other one, whose punchline was obvious. Again, I set up a poll that lets you choose the character that gets to know the secret of the Intellectual Naruto. And if anything, I'm hinting at a Naruto/Harem with Sakura and Hinata as the Maelstrom Resistance founders, and since Tayuya, Karin, and Haku are related to him, they're out.

Other than that, I'm starting to feel like Sakura and Hinata are going to pull something from South Park.)


	3. Chuunin ExamsTake Two

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 3: Chuunin Exams…Take Two.

----

After a week of bonding, learning each others' strengths and weaknesses, and the fact that they were all hated by something out of their control, Team Spiral had entered the Academy building, ready for the Chuunin Exams.

When they got up on the Second Floor, they saw the crowd gather around it…and the key word was Second.

"Ignore them," Naruto said. "It's basically a test to weed out the weaker Genin."

"Judging by the two Chuunin in the Genjutsu," Tayuya said, quietly, "I can see why."

Sure enough, they had gotten up there without any flaws and had entered as a team…and they met a familiar face.

"Naruto Nii-San!" the kid said. "I didn't think you'd show up!"

"What can I say, Kono?" Naruto replied. "A leave of absence can't stop me."

"Just what I expected from my eternal rival!" He then noticed Naruto's teammates. "Who are these two?"

"These two are Tayuya and Haku, my long-lost cousins. It's a long story."

"Nice to meet you," Haku said.

"Sup?" Tayuya said.

"These three are Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. If anything, they're in the same Genin squad because of their friendship."

"So, Boss," Konohamaru said, "any new techniques you'd like to show us?"

"Not at the moment, but if you'll stick around for the Third Exam, you'll see what I've cooked up."

"You guys need to quiet down," a man said. "I know it's a reunion for you guys, but you're acting like a bunch of rookies."

Apparently, he had green hair, a black jumpsuit, and a headband with a spiral around it.

"And you are?" Naruto asked him.

"Matsudo Kagura, but everyone back home calls me Matt. My teammates happen to be Mia Tenshi and Yukina Yagami, and we're the team from Uzugakure."

"Oh, NOW I remember you guys! You're Akito-Sensei's Genin Squad!"

Sure enough, Mia had glomped Naruto on sight, much to the annoyance of her teammates and Naruto's.

"I'm surprised you forgot about me," she said, flirting. "I'm hurt."

"Get off my cousin, you little tramp," Tayuya said.

"Or what? It's not like that flute can do any lasting damage."

"Probability of you surviving is low," Yukina said. "Wise decision is to back off."

"Alright." Sure enough, Mia grumbled.

"That was the first time I've ever seen the Boss get an admirer," Konohamaru said in utter shock. Moegi and Udon nodded.

"What was that all about?" Haku asked them.

"Sorry about that," Matt said. "Mia's a bit of an Uzumaki fangirl because of his mother."

"I can see why," Tayuya said, "but my bro has been hurt in the past, and I can't exactly let anyone break his heart."

"And Yukina?" Udon asked him.

"Haven't the faintest clue, but I think it's a result of her bloodline, the Data Space. I don't know."

"I kind of expected another Kabuto," Naruto said, "but you guys are better than nothing. What are you doing here, anyways? I thought Uzugakure cut off all ties with Konoha after what happened sixteen years ago."

Before Matt could explain, though, there was a loud voice.

"ALRIGHT, YOU RUNTS!" the man said. "SIT DOWN OR ELSE FATE WILL DECIDE YOU'LL ALL FAIL THE EXAMS!"

Not wanting to incur the wrath of the Hyuga Branch member with the activated Byakugan, everyone hurriedly rushed to a random seat.

_Neji as the first proctor_, Naruto thought. _Who would have thought?_

_Sorry, Naruto, _Neji thought, _but I had to put up the fate threat to scare them._ "Looks like we've got a few who haven't taken this exam in a long time here," he said. "However, I won't exactly be as merciful for them as the last proctor was."

Sure enough, it was a copy of the EXACT SAME exam Naruto took during his first Chuunin exam. However, he had supportive teammates this time. Tayuya had pulled a few guitar strings to distract the Chuunin with the answers while Haku had used her ice mirrors to retrieve said answers.

Yukina, being a semi-living computer, had used her knowledge to transfer the right answers to both Matt and Mia.

Unfortunately, Konohamaru's team didn't have an advantage of a bloodline…so Naruto had set up a discreet Morse Code message to both of his teammates.

_Kono's in trouble, stop. Distract Neji, stop. Watch out for the Byakugan, stop. Don't forget the other Chuunin, stop._

After about 45 minutes, Neji had introduced the tenth question.

"Before you take the question," he said, "you have to decide whether or not to take it."

"What do you mean by that?" a random Genin asked him.

"Basically, it's a little insurance policy. If you refuse to take it, you'll be able to attend another day. However, if you take it and get the answer wrong…you are forbidden to ever take the Chuunin Exams again!"

"What kind of question is that?" another random Genin asked.

"I didn't make the rules, kid. Fate has just handed me this position for the first time."

_Konohamaru…_ Moegi thought. _I think I should help him drop out. It's not exactly worth it to see him never take the Chuunin Exams again…_

----

In the Jounin room, Akito was worried.

"Something on your mind?" Shikamaru asked him.

"Somewhat," he replied. "Whose idea was it to put a Hyuga in charge of the first exam, anyways? If anything, he'll fail them like killing a deer in point-blank range, no offense meant."

"None taken. One question, though. Your students…by any chance have they taken this kind of exam before?"

"Somewhat. They only know Yukina's bloodline, but Matt and Mia are relative unknowns. It HAS been a long time since Uzugakure entered the Chuunin Exams."

"That may be true, Akito-san," Ebisu said, "but during my time training Konohamaru, he's grown to be more like Naruto, who I admit is a better sensei than I am."

"He does have that affect on people," Shikamaru said. "If anything, Naruto's like a lost beacon of hope trapped in the darkness of hate. However, as long as the light burns, the darkness can't engulf it. That infectious grin of his spreads to lost souls he touched everywhere, and Konohamaru's got a degree similar to him."

Back in the exam room, Naruto was unphased, but was watching Konohamaru intently.

_In order to become Hokage, Kono_, Naruto thought, _you have to recognise the sacrifice the past Hokages have made in order to make the village what it is today. The Shodaime and Nidame had populated it, your Grandfather was able to make it prosper, and my Dad sacrificed himself to save it. I know I'm willing, I'm just leaving the decision up to you._

And in a similar fashion to Naruto's first year…Konohamaru's raised hand had slammed onto the desk.

"DO YOU THINK I GIVE A RAT'S ASS WHAT FATE THINKS OF ME?!?" Konohamaru yelled. "EVEN IF I BECOME STUCK AS A GENIN FOREVER, I'LL BECOME HOKAGE AND MAKE MY BOSS AND GRANDFATHER PROUD, AND YOUR EYES WILL BE WEEPING BECAUSE OF IT!"

_I thought so,_ Naruto thought.

_Heh,_ Neji thought. _Looks like Naruto's influenced him to the point where not everything's declared by fate._ "A lot is riding on it. Are you sure you want to risk it?"

"I don't give up, Hyuga-san. My Grandfather sacrificed himself to save the village and I'm willing to do the same. That's my Nindo."

"If that's the case, then Fate declares…that you all pass."

Cue the explanations later…and a woman bashes through the window with a banner.

"Alright, maggots!" she yelled. "Special Jounin Anko Mitarashi is here!"

_I think I'm in love…_Matt thought.

_She still uses that banner?_ Naruto thought. _Apparently, the Council's relentless on her position on the Forest of Death._

_Still surprising as ever, Anko_, Tayuya thought, smirking.

_Huh,_ Anko thought. _A couple teams from Suna, Kiri, and Kumo, one from Uzu, and the brat with Tayuya and a newcomer._ "Well, you're more punctual than Ibiki, at least. I only see around 24 teams."

"Apparently, we've got a few determined ones," Neji replied.

"Wouldn't matter, anyways. I'll cut them in half at the end of the next exam. Now, I'd like everyone to follow me to the next exam…except the team with the semi-orange jumpsuit."

With that being said, everyone except Naruto, Tayuya, Haku, and Neji left the room…and both veterans broke down laughing.

"I actually thought you reverted back to your stick-up-the-ass self there for a minute," Naruto said.

"What can I say?" Neji asked him. "The fate crack gets them every time. Anyways, it's nice to see you again, Naruto."

"Same here, and I'm a LOT more serious on this exam this time around."

"This coming from the guy with no answers on his sheet?" Tayuya asked him.

"It worked last time! All I had to do was ride my answers on the Tenth Question!"

"That takes all the fun out of it," Neji said. "Still, you're not exactly surprised that Konohamaru would pull something like you would?"

"Nah. I had faith in him. Other than that, did you see any abnormalities with those eyes of yours?"

"Well, that one team from Uzu has what looks like a walking-talking computer program, but other than that, no sign of purple chakra or Sharingan anywhere."

"I'm assuming that if either of them were seen," Haku said, "you'd call ANBU?"

"More than that. Because of Kiba's introduction to the ANBU, we've got a K-9 Unit and a SWAT team, courtesy of the Aburame clan. Speaking of which, Shino's about to release the Kikai swarms once the second exam starts. I'm sure you guys don't want to be late."

Naruto nodded. "Nice seeing you again, Neji. And say Hi to Hiashi-San for me."

As the team left, Neji had smirked. _Naruto Uzumaki. The man who defied fate. If anything, you'd better make good on your promise or else I'm gunning for you._

----

"What took you all so long?" Anko asked Team Senju as they arrived outside the Forest of Death.

"Nothing much," Naruto said. "Just catching up with an old friend. Other than that, I pretty much explained to my teammates WHY you said you'll cut the participants in half in this exam."

_A veteran on his second time is basically a good one,_ Anko thought, _but don't think you'll be getting off easy._ "Welcome to Training Area 44, aka, the Forest of Death."

"Looks like Orochimaru's old basement," Tayuya said, "only a LOT cleaner and crawling with more bugs."

"It only looks that way, but it isn't. If anything, you are to sign a few wavers in order to make sure that Konoha isn't responsible for your deaths. Once you turn them all in, you'll be given a scroll at random. Your objective is to find both scrolls within five days and bring them to the tower. If you open them too soon…well, that's a surprise you'll find out the hard way."

After the teams signed the forms, Team Senju had taken a look at the scroll.

"I REALLY hate Déjà vu," Naruto said. "It's a Heaven scroll."

"So, we have to find a team who has the opposite scroll and get to the tower within five days?" Tayuya asked him. "Sounds easy enough to pass."

"Too easy," Haku said. "If anything, Kiri had the same kind of exam, only on a deserted island for seven days."

"We'll compare it later," Naruto said. "Haku, you're an expert on which plants are good for healing, right?" She nodded. "Tayuya, I know you won't like it, but you're setting up the traps." Tayuya groaned, but nodded.

"And you?" Haku asked him.

"Recon/Offensive. If anything I have a loyalty to both Uzu and Konoha because of…you know."

"Noted," Tayuya said, "but I'm not going to sit back and enjoy it."

"If anything," Haku said, "Konohamaru-kun's team and Matt's team are allies, so to speak."

Naruto nodded. "Oh, and it's been a long time since I've been in the Forest, so I might not be as accurate as I once was."

With that, the bell rang and everyone raced inside the forest.

----

In the watch tower, Anko can be seen watching the cameras intently.

"Sorry I'm late," Akito said, entering. "I had to steer myself from a lovers' spat."

"It's all right, Akito," Anko said. "Kakashi and Rin fighting again? If anything, I doubt he'll get out alive."

Akito shuddered at that. "If anything, I'm here because I made a promise to Kushina-Sensei to watch Naruto grow. Matsudo, Mia, and Yukina happen to be the students assigned to me as the Uzu Team Seven, which basically pissed Kakashi off a bit."

"At first," Kakashi said, entering the room. "Now I see they're not like me, Rin and Obito used to be. However, I'm surprised that Naruto has a fangirl there."

"A fangirl," Akito said. "Mia's a bit of a flirt and adores Kushina-sensei's tomboyish attitude, but her last name is Tenshi for a reason. Her Taijutsu is only rivaled by the Hyuga's Gentle Fist and is usually defeated because of the lack of Byakugan used.

"Yukina's a puzzle even I can't solve. It's like she's a computer program inputted into the system that is our world. How she passes it off as a bloodline is beyond me, but it works.

"As for Matsudo, he's a little like Naruto, only calmer. Heck, they're even blood brothers, although they're more like Distant Cousins."

"Huh," Kakashi said. "If anything, Hokage-Sama had informed me on Naruto's parentage, and had it been Sarutobi, I would've flipped. Still, it's nice to know you're keeping your end of the promise."

"You still can. By any chance do you know any Earth Techniques he doesn't?"

"I only taught him Inner Decapitation and the Thousand Years of Pain. You filled in what I couldn't."

"Not to interrupt the bonding moment between the respective villages' best Ninja," Anko said, "but apparently a Kiri team decided to risk opening it prematurely."

Akito and Kakashi flinched.

"That's gotta hurt," Akito said. "Ran over by an Akamichi Chuunin."

"No kidding," Kakashi said. "Back to the training regiment, did he develop anything new?"

"Other than a Lightning Affinity so you can teach him the Raikiri? Seriously, though, the Lighting affinity is not only making it possible for him to use that jutsu combined with the Kyuubi's enhanced senses, but the Hiraishin as well."

_Sounds like you used the Ryuken Inner Beast training with Naruto_, Kakashi thought. _Without it, I wouldn't even be here with my Wolf partner, or Rin with Pantera, for that matter._

In the forest, Team Senju had taken out their first team.

"Gaara's going to be pissed," Naruto said. "These guys are Suna Ninja."

"You're the one who's friends with him," Tayuya said. "And they already have three scrolls in their possession, two of them being Earth Scrolls."

"Sounds like we can pass both Konohamaru-kun and Matt's teams," Haku said.

"Only one problem," Naruto said. "They're nowhere to be found."

With Team Uzu…

"**ANGEL FIST: MERCIFUL STRIKES!**" Mia yelled, knocking out their opponents.

"**CYBER STYLE JUTSU: REPROGRAM!**" Yukina yelled, making another opponent defeated.

"Bad news, guys," Matt said. "Their scroll's already taken."

"Damn it!" Mia yelled. "There's no way we'll catch up to Naruto-Kun now!"

"Reasoning is illogical," Yukina said. "Team Senju has the scroll we need, along with an extra pair."

"Which direction?" Matt asked her.

"To the tower, meeting up with Team Kono."

"Let's go, then!"

With Team Kono, they had made it to the tower after defeating a team that had no scrolls.

"I'm surprised you're getting better with those Trench Knives, Kono-Kun," Moegi said.

"Thanks, Moegi," Konohamaru said, "but I couldn't have done it without Nara-Sensei."

"Sounds like you guys could use some help," Naruto said, arriving on the scene.

"Boss! You're alright!"

"Aw," Matt said, "no love for us?"

"Don't worry, Matt," Haku said. "We've got an extra Heaven and Earth scroll."

"Which scroll do you rats have?" Tayuya asked them.

"Heaven," Konohamaru said.

"Earth," Yukina said.

"I HATE Déjà vu sometimes," Naruto said.

As they entered the tower and laid the scrolls down, they started to smoke, and out popped…

"Kiba, Shino, and Chouji," Naruto said. "Nice to see you guys again."

"Same here," Kiba said. "If anything, Neji told us about your protégé's performance."

"Proto-what?" Matt asked him.

"It means student," Yukina said. "What Inuzuka-San is referring to is the fact that Naruto had taught Konohamaru a jutsu soon after he graduated."

"Ah. Right. Is it the one where his gender changes?"

"Ixnay on the Exysay Utsujay," Naruto said in Pig Latin.

"Not THAT one," Kiba said, blushing. "I meant the one where you give a chakra pulse to your opponent's ass."

Everyone flinched at that. Even Shino.

"In any case," Chouji said, munching on his chips, "all of you pass the Second Exam."

"Yes," Shino said. "However, because of Naruto's memory, you've gained the next four days to do what you like, as long as you don't leave the forest."

Naruto shrugged. "Oh well. I wanted to see how much the tower changed, anyways."

"I'm guessing the nostalgia's too much for you to bear?" Haku asked him.

"Definitely. If it wasn't for Neji's Byakugan, I would've flunked everyone out."

"Well, you WERE gone for almost three years," Kiba said. "It's about time you caught up with us by now."

"Right." With that, Naruto went to find his bedroom. "I just hope I can sleep on something other than rocks and grass."

In the top of the tower…

"I'll be damned," Kakashi said. "To think he actually made it on the first day."

"I think he's more excited about showing off his abilities," Akito said, "and if he contains it any longer, he'll probably explode with the jutsu he trained in and made."

"That reminds me, you taught him about the theory of Jutsu creation, right?" Akito nodded. "Then along with the Raikiri and Hiraishin, I'll give him a challenge. If he can come up with an original Lightning Jutsu within the month-long break, it'll be marked as a Namikaze/Uzumaki technique."

"Right, but you have to make sure he gets here on time. Matt's been waiting to fight him since they first met, and the Affinity Merge doesn't fall far from either side of the tree."

There was a pause…until Kakashi said, "What?"

"You'll see."

To be continued…

----

Character Profiles:

Matsudo "Matt" Kagura.

Gender: Male.

Age: 16.

Birthdate: November 3.

Profile: A relative unknown, but native to the Uzumaki Islands, Matsudo is the drop-out of the Uzu Ninja Academy with a bloodline not seen in years. Like Naruto, Matt does the occasional prank, but Akito knows that he has a great destiny ahead of him. Matt dreams of becoming the next Rasenkage.

Character Basis: Mail Jeevas (Death Note. Dark green hair)

Fighting Style: Steel Toe style (mostly involving kicks)

Bloodline: Affinity Merge (All at once, unlike Naruto's)

Affinities: Fire, Water, and Earth. Creats Metal Jutsu.

Mia Tenshi.

Gender: Female.

Age: 16.

Birthdate: Janurary 19.

Profile: Her name may mean Angel, but her attitude isn't as holy as you would think. Basically, she's the rebellious Clan Heiress who crushes on the celebrity-types of Uzugakure, aka, Naruto Uzumaki. Basically the top-ranking Genin in Uzu.

Character Basis: Yoruichi Shihoun (Bleach)

Fighting Style: Angel Fist Style

Bloodline: None

Affinities: Wind and Water.

Yukina Yagami.

Gender: Female.

Age: 16.

Birthdate: Unknown.

Profile: From a powerful clan with almost no history, Yukari is basically the bookworm of the trio. The only time she does speak is when someone's confused or she's calculating the chances of survival, which leads her teammates to believe she's a walking computer.

Character Basis: Yuki Nagato (Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

Fighting Style: None

Bloodline: Data Space (?)

Affinity: Lightning.

Akito Ryuken.

Gender: Male.

Age: 29.

Birthdate: September 18.

Profile: Kushina's former student, Jounin-sensei to Uzu's Team Seven, and rival to Kakashi, Akito was the link between Konoha and Uzu until after the Kyuubi attacked. During Naruto's training trip, he sees a piece of his long-forgotten past in the form of said kid and taught him the art of the Saint Fist, the Spiral Fist, and the Beast Fist. Although he has dozens of summoning contracts and jutsu at his disposal, he rarely uses them because of his honorable nature. Has a thing for sadistic women.

Character Basis: You're joking, right?

Fighting Style: Saint Fist, Spiral Fist, and Beast Fist

Bloodline: None, but seeking those who have them in their system is not to be abused or bred, so it doesn't count.

Affinities: All.

(A/n: For the record, they're not truly all-powerful. They have weaknesses as well. Akito's not exactly good with fire jutsu because of his hatred with the Uchihas, so it usually backfires on him, Matt's got a habit of bringing the worst of a situation to life, Mia's Angel Fist is mostly based on speed, but not through power, and Yukina's vulnerable when reprogramming the environment, so she needs either Matt or Mia to cover her back.)


	4. Preliminaries and Apologies

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 4: Preliminaries…Once Again.

----

Within the tower, the teams were assembled as Tsunade was looking at some of them with pride.

"Alright, everyone," she said. "Now, before we begin the next test, we're going to tell you why the Chuunin exams are made in the first place."

"Isn't it just to become Chuunin?" a random Konoha genin asked her.

"More than that. It's to see if the hidden villages are strong as they were, so instead of war, it's a test of skill."

A lot of Genin were angered by this fact, but the only ones who knew were Team Senju, Team Kono, and Team Uzu.

"Now, instead of immediately going to the final exam…"

"Hokage-sama," a man with a bowl-cut hair said, "is it okay if I test these youthful genin?"

"Go ahead, Lee."

_One surprise after another_, Naruto thought, smirking. _Lee's proctoring this exam. This should be entertaining._

"In order to proceed to the final round," Lee said, "we must test your Flames of Youth in the preliminaries. Don't get me wrong, though. All of you should be qualified for Chuunin, but it doesn't work that way. Instead, we have to see if your youthfulness can withstand each other."

A LOT of Genin who weren't from Konoha were confused at that statement alone.

"He meant," TenTen said, "we have to set up a match to see who's qualified for the Third Exam, which will be seen by everyone in Konoha. And please excuse him. He was privately taught by Maito Gai, who also speaks that way."

"Now," Lee said, "our board here will randomly select two Genin to fight down in the arena alone. However, if you have the option to forfeit, don't hesitate."

Unlike last year, however, no one refused to leave.

"Right. TenTen, the first match?"

The two names that were revealed first were Naruto Uzumaki vs Reiji Asuna.

"Will anybody who isn't called please head towards the platforms?" TenTen asked them.

Sure enough, Naruto was up against a guy around his age using a stance similar to the Uchiha's Interceptor Fist, only slightly altered.

_Obviously, this guy didn't get the picture._ Naruto decided to go humble and use the Iron Fist, much to Lee's surprise.

"Ready?" Lee asked them. The both of them nodded. "FIGHT!"

When Lee got out of the way, Reiji had made the first strike, but Naruto had countered with a flip and a kick to the back. However, he didn't expect a kick in return, considering that Naruto hadn't faced an Asuna clan member before.

Sure enough, it turned from a simple flurry of kicks into a barrage of punches, some of them hit Naruto.

"What the heck are you?" he asked him.

"Your worst nightmare," Reiji replied. "**HIJUTSU: TIME FREEZE!**"

Sure enough, Naruto had frozen in place.

"Not even someone like you can avoid the attack," he said. Sure enough, he took a bunch of Kunai and threw them at him. "**Unfreeze.**" What Reiji failed to notice was that he took down a Shadow Clone…until it poofed out of existence. _Shadow clones? I didn't think…_

"**WATER STYLE: WHIRLPOOL RASENGAN!**" Naruto yelled, splashing him in freezing water from behind.

"Not bad, kid, but you've yet to face my true strength."

"Bring it."

"**LIGHTNING STYLE: SHOCKWAVE JUTSU!**" The water from the floor had started sparking from Reiji…but he failed to notice that it affected him in his drought state, paralyzing himself.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki," Lee said.

With that, he returned to the stands, frowning.

_I really wanted a challenge_, Naruto thought, _but all I got was someone who was cocky enough to use a Lightning Jutsu while he's drenched._

"Looks like Kumogakure's getting desperate," Kakashi said, noticing the results of that fight.

"They must really want to kill him, don't they?" Naruto asked his old sensei.

"They're desperate enough to try. Which reminds me, I'll be training you in Lightning Jutsu during the month-long break on the condition that I bring you to the stadium on time. Don't ask why, but I'm making up for my mistake."

"Thanks, Kakashi-Sensei. And yes, I do need work on Lightning Jutsu. The only one I could come up with is the Paralysis Point Jutsu, considering I'm new to the affinity."

"I think I saw that Jutsu once…wasn't it based off of the Hyuga's 64 Palms jutsu?"

"Developed by Kumogakure themselves. My sensei at that time was…well, like me."

"Nice to know you hold me in high regard, Naruto," a female voice said. Apparently, she was listening to their conversation.

"Yugito-Sensei," Naruto said, bowing.

"Please, just call me Yugito. You and I have WAY too much in common to be just sensei and student."

"Yugito-san," Kakashi said, "I'm sure you're aware of the Raikage's actions?"

"Aware? He gave me the assassination mission when he KNEW I wouldn't survive it. That's why I joined Konoha in the first place."

"And you figured out who was responsible for the incident?" Neji asked her.

"Yeah. The so-called ambassador was actually a Missing-Nin who wanted to breed the bloodline into Kumo in order to get back into the Raikage's good graces. Unfortunately, it had taken out a good man in the process."

"At least you hold my father in high regard, Yugito. However, I think we need to talk to Naruto. Just be glad that you and I are friends."

With that, Neji led Naruto towards Lee and Tenten to explain a few things.

Yugito and Kakashi, however, went towards Akito, Rin, and Anko.

"Dare I ask why you taught Naruto the Iron Fist, Akito-teme?" Kakashi asked him.

"It's a base form, Kaka-baka," Akito replied. "In order to master the Spiral and Saint fists, you have to master the Iron Fist. As for the Beast Fist, it's based off the Inuzuka style, only without the Ninken partner, which is why Rin had used it easily."

"Surprising, isn't it?" Rin asked him. "However, I've only been learning medical jutsu, which means I'm a little rusty at it."

"Who's this guy?" Yugito asked Kakashi.

"Yugito, this is Akito Ryuken, an ally and my old Uzu/Konoha teammate. Akito, this is Yugito Nii, former Jounin of Kumogakure and…"

"The Vessel for the Two-Tailed Cat," Akito said. "I know. Had she been a bit younger, she would've been Naruto's girl."

"Dare I ask how you know about the Biju?" Anko asked him.

"After Kyuubi attacked, you tend to want to know more about them. Yugito's chakra was glaringly obvious, and I'm surprised it didn't get extracted yet. I trained six months with Naruto, remember?"

"Still, you could at least call."

"With the Civilian Council and Danzo taking control and Sasuke lusting for power? No way, Kakashi. In fact, I almost considered failing them if it wasn't for their cooperation skills."

"Wait," Rin said. "You made your team take the bell test?" Akito nodded. "And they actually worked together?" Again, a nod. "Wow. Last time I checked, Kakashi and I were sitting next to the stump while Obito was tied to it."

"Funny thing was, Matt did the same thing. Yukina figured out the meaning of the test and got the both of them to help out. However, Matt was tied to the stump, but I passed them anyways because of said teamwork."

Kakashi smirked. "You took my saying to heart. Me…I have a lot to make up for with Naruto, and I doubt apologizing would help. However, with the development that you taught Naruto four different styles of combat, one of them having a similar basis to the Sharingan, I might be able to teach him the Raikiri."

Akito was torn for a bit, but said, "All right, but you'd better bring him there on time. If he's disqualified because of your tardiness, I will hunt you down and kick your ass, peace treaty or not. Got it?"

"Agreed," Kakashi said. _Although he's younger than I am, he can back up his claim. I'd better watch myself when the month ends._

After Tayuya finished her match against a Suna Genin and Haku with a Kiri Genin, Lee managed to talk to Naruto for a bit with Konohamaru's match against a Konoha Genin in progress.

"Nice to see your Flames of Youth are still gunning for the Hokage rank," Lee said.

"I made a promise to Grampa Saru, and I'm sticking to it," Naruto said, simply. "If I don't make it, I'll at least become the new Toad Sannin in Jiraiya's footsteps."

That was the thing the Konoha 11 liked about Naruto. His enthusiasm made them smile even in the darkest of situations.

"Anyways, how's life without me?"

"Boring," TenTen said, "and you found Itachi's corpse instead of Sasuke in the process. I'm just surprised that the Council didn't know."

"That's because anything regarding Naruto is a Triple-S Class Secret," Neji said. "Not even Hinata would tell me what she saw in him."

"Speaking of which, where IS Hinata?" Naruto asked Neji.

"Apparently, she and Sakura are training with each other for some odd reason, involving you. Other than that, they wouldn't tell me a thing and I couldn't get Uncle Hiashi to spill the beans about it. Oh, and the Paralyzing Point Jutsu is in the Hyuga library thanks to you."

"You didn't exactly tell them who invented that jutsu, right?"

"And face a brain melt? No way. If anything, the Branch Family sends its regards."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks."

"If you'll excuse me," Lee said, jumping down to the arena. "Winner, Konohamaru Sarutobi."

After the next match was up, Lee returned. "Sorry about that. Konohamaru's youthful progress has qualified him for the exams. Right now, Hanabi's facing off against a Kumo Nin."

"Anyone else that passed?" Naruto asked him.

"Actually, there was a Nami Gennin whose teammates have failed, but it seems that his flames of youth were damaged until around three years ago."

"Naruto!" a young teenager yelled. Apparently, Naruto recognized him.

"Inari! Long time no see! I didn't know you became a Ninja!"

"I wanted to surprise you. If anything, it was Grandpa's idea to make a Ninja Academy after Gatou fell so that they won't be taken advantage of again. However, we're under jurisdiction of the Rasenkage instead of the Mizukage, who banished your cousin."

"So Uzugakure and Nami are part of the Whirlpool Peninsula? That's neat. Sorry that I missed your match. TenTen, Lee, and Neji happen to be old friends of mine."

"I know. I'm a bit of a Taijutsu expert with a bit of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu back home, and I was hoping I would train under one of the Jounin here."

"YOSH!" Lee yelled, startling everyone. "YOUR REPAIRED FLAMES OF YOUTH HAVE INSPIRED ME TO TRAIN YOU, INARI OF NAMI!"

Before Lee could do the same routine, Naruto stopped him.

"You can train Inari under a few conditions: One, no green jumpsuits. I don't want to know how Tsunami and Tazuna would react to it. Two, make sure to get someone that's well-versed in Ninjutsu with you, and Kakashi and I will be training alongside you. Three, don't hurt him too bad. The news of Nami having a Ninja Academy is mind-numbing to bear, and I'm sure they have former Missing-Nin as Jounin and Chuunin Sensei there, so his Taijutsu would be the best of his class, but not up to par to yours or Gai-Sensei's."

"Right. Sorry about that. It's just that I've been trying to keep that habit down since we had the spat after Gai killed Kisame."

"Noted, but Inari wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for me, so I'm considered an older brother to him."

"And somewhat of a rival to me," Konohamaru said, walking up to him. "If anything, I'm not exactly surprised that you know the Boss, but you and I need to test our skills later."

"Agreed, Konohamaru," Inari said. "And if anything, I was trained in the style of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist in Kenjutsu."

Naruto's ears took note of it. "Which swordsman trained you?" he asked his second surrogate little brother. "The only two I know happen to be six feet under."

"Raiga Kurosuki," Inari said. "Apparently, he decided to help out my Grandfather, and in return, teach me the way of the Seven Swordsmen. I had to use an oar for starters, then moved onto the blade."

"I think Hayate's rolling in his grave," Neji said.

"And Zabuza's smiling down on him," Naruto added. "If anything, anyone who helped defeat Gatou's men is a good guy in his book."

"And you wonder why I didn't take up the mantle of killing," Haku said, arriving.

"Believe me," Inari said, "if I had enjoyed it, I'd be betraying my family and island. I did it to protect, not to enjoy."

"Then you are strong already."

"You two know each other already?" Naruto asked them.

"Whose place did you think she stayed in?" Inari replied. Naruto had forgotten how big it was.

Lee had gotten up to the platform. "The preliminaries are over, you guys. If anything there were a few double knock-outs and the team from Uzugakure had made it to the finals."

Naruto, Inari, Konohamaru, and Haku nodded, joining the other applicants, which consisted of Hanabi, Matt, Mia, Yukina, and Tayuya.

"I REALLY hate Déjà vu," Naruto said.

"Get used to it," Neji said, "because the difference between the Branch Family and the Main Family is the lack of restraint."

"Thanks for the tip, Neji. I'll keep it in mind."

With that, they had started to draw the numbers…but Yukina volunteered to go last, much to their suspicion.

_Can't exactly blame her for trying,_ Matt thought. _If anything, she'll fabricate the matches to our liking._

And Matt was right, because the order of the matches were set in a way even they couldn't disagree.

The first match involved Naruto facing off against Matsudo, the next one was Mia vs Tayuya, Match 3 was Konohamaru vs Inari, and Match 4 was Haku vs Hanabi. Yukina had to face off against the winner of Semifinal Match 2.

"Now that the matches are set," Tsunade said, "you have the next month to train. Remember, its not only your lives on the line, it's also your village's reputation. The Rasenkage and Kazekage will be watching this, although the Kazekage would be disappointed with the lack of Suna Nin involved."

_Well, at least I'll get to see Gaara again,_ Naruto said, smirking.

_I really hope the Sand bitch doesn't recognize me,_ Tayuya thought.

_Zabuza_, Haku thought, _not only did I find Naruto, but I also found someone who can truly carry your legacy._

_This is it,_ Konohamaru thought. _My one chance to show my Grandfather and Uncle that I can become a capable ninja is here at last. I hope I don't screw up our family legacy._

_Kaiza,_ Inari thought, _with this in hand, I'll show them that Nami is not one to be tampered with._

_Sister or not,_ Mia thought, _I'll be able to win Naruto-kun's heart._

_It's too bad our match was cut short,_ Matt thought. _Had it been earlier, I wouldn't have tried to convince Yukina to set the matches up._

_They're all skilled_, Hanabi thought, _but once I make Chuunin, I'll be able to convince Hinata to hit the Old Geezers where it hurts the most._

"Now, not everyone will make Chuunin, I'm afraid," Tsunade said, snapping them out of their thoughts. "Being Chuunin means being a team leader to fellow ninja. If the leader returns with his teammates KIA, he'll be stripped of his rank and will have to suffice with doing D-Ranks."

All of the Konoha Nin flinched because of a certain mission that's the bane of Konoha's existence: Tora, the Fire Damiyo's Wife's cat. If anything, they would rather take a torture session with Ibiki, Anko, AND Shino combined than deal with Tora.

After the announcement was made, everyone went their separate ways.

---

Naruto and Kakashi are basically training in the old Namikaze/Uzumaki compound, much to the displeasure of certain Civilian Council members. However, Kakashi insisted that he will not be blind to his students anymore, even if the graves of his father and best friend are soiled a thousand times over.

"Why here, Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto asked him.

"What better to learn your family jutsu and my own than where they lived?" he replied. "Also, I'm fulfilling the Fourth's last wish. I'm a bit late on doing it, as usual, but I didn't exactly think I would get the chance."

Naruto had smiled at his Sensei for his concern. "Thanks, Kakashi-Sensei, and you don't have to use the Chakra Control excuse anymore. The Shadow Clones helped me with that."

"I figured. Only someone with your energy could pull that off with over a thousand clones. Now, I'm about to show you the basis of the Raikiri, which involves the Rasengan."

"I know. You know it, but was unable to control it, so you made the Raikiri and Chidori in its place, and with the implanted Sharingan eye, you were able to get past the drawbacks."

"Actually, the Sharingan isn't the only way to bypass the Chidori's faults. Since you have the creator within you, you can use your Inner Beast form in order to make the Raikiri Fang. Don't forget that foxes are misinterpreted as dogs most of the time."

"**If anything,**" Kyuubi said, "**it could work when you run into the Uchiha again.**"

"However, after I teach you the Raikiri, Hiraishin, and the Lightning Dragon Bullet, which came to me in a mission once, I'm giving you a challenge."

Even though Naruto's a genius within the mask, he can't resist the concept of a challenge. Heck, from Akito, that's how Kakashi made the Rakiri in the first place. "What kind of challenge?"

"Ninjutsu creation. It has to be a Lightning Jutsu so I can use it in order to honor you and Minato-Sensei and list it in the Namikaze/Uzumaki original techniques. However, you have to come up with the name for it. I can't interfere with this one, Naruto, but I can teach you the concept of Lightning Jutsu in return."

"Why tell me now than during my first Chuunin Exam, then?"

"Again, Council breathing down my back. If you hadn't ran out on me, I would've given it to you a long time ago. And Naruto…I'm sorry."

Naruto had frowned, but he couldn't exactly stay mad at his old Sensei. Sure, the man was tardy, but he had kept him alive during the mob attacks as ANBU Captain Inu. "Truth be told, your apology was accepted because I owe you my life, really."

"You remember?"

"How can I not? Only one ANBU had an Icha Icha Paradise book in his Kunai bag."

Kakashi did his traditional eye-smile, but he felt relieved. "Now, I want you to make around 100 Shadow clones, make 50 do both the Tree Climbing and Water Walking exercises, make 25 memorize the seals for the Rakiri and Lightning Dragon Bullet, and the last 25 to study the seals of the Hiraishin. Other than that, you and I need to spar immediately. Taijutsu can't exactly be mastered through Shadow Clones due to it being physical instead of spiritual."

Naruto did his fox-like grin and took the stance of the Spiral Fist, which involved the legs being parallel with each other and the fists acting like claws.

----

Elsewhere, in Waterfall Country, a young man lurks.

That man was Sasuke Uchiha, former pride of Konoha, Orochimaru's student, and the newest Sharingan user on the force. Apparently, he was plotting to attack Konoha so he could fight Naruto.

_Like he could even provide a challenge,_ he thought. _Once the village dobe, always the village dobe. Then again, breaking my bond with him activated the Mangekyou, so I don't need him to die anymore._ His Sharingan Eyes had eerily turned serpentine when he thought that.

Unknown to him, a few other members had plans of their own.

"Is it true?" the man with the orange hair asked the two women.

"Would I lie about something like this?" The blue-haired woman said. "Apparently, the Kyuubi Vessel's been holding back on him, although I don't know why."

"I know why," the red-head said. "Apparently, he's leading Sasuke to a false sense of security in order to grab him later and let him stand trial, although I doubt that's the case here since Sasuke's inherited Madara's Eyes."

The man with orange hair shook his head. "The Sharingan may be powerful, but it's not all-seeing, even with the extra eyes. I think Sasuke's going in over his head, if anything."

"Why?"

"Because a Namikaze's first rule is to not let anyone know of your true strength and intelligence until when deemed necessary. Minato knew it, I know it, and the Kyuubi Vessel knows it. Other than that, Sasuke's no longer in control of his own destiny…or body, for that matter."

The woman with the blue hair growled. "Orochimaru's returning?"

"I wish he wasn't, personally," the red-head said, "but Orochimaru's defeat marked his evolution within Sasuke. If anything, Sasuke is officially dead."

"That's why we need to get to Konoha before they do," the orange-haired man said. "If anything, Madara's Mangekyou can control the Kyuubi, and with Orochimaru involved, the shit will hit the fan."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Pein-sama," Konan said.

"Pein died after leaving Akatsuki, Konan. Right now, I'm going by Nagato Namikaze." _Jiraiya-sensei, Minato-oto, Konan-chan, and Tsunade-sama, I promise I'll make everything right with my nephew. I may get the death penalty for killing Jiraiya, but at least I'll die with a clean conscience._ Believe it or not, Pein…or rather, Nagato…had shed tears of sorrow for the first time in years.

A certain plant, however, was listening and had a few thoughts himself, being a schitzophrenic plant and all. And for once, the black side isn't acting like Audrey II.

_Madara-sama's not going to like this,_ one side of him thought.

_**But Pein-sama has the right idea, **_the other side thought. _**Now that Orochimaru's taken control of the Uchiha, he won't need us anymore.**_

_Should we follow them or commit our form of suicide?_

_**We take a different route. Konoha's got that blasted Yamato Senju, so we're going someplace where there's lots of food that don't know any better. Try an uninhabited forest near what used to be Otogakure.**_

_Right. Madara-teme is going to suffer by the hands of the Nine-Tailed Fox within a month._

Needless to say, Nagato was right. Neither Madara nor Sasuke/Orochimaru had seen them leave.

In a month's time, neither villain would know what hit them.

To be continued…

----

Original Jutsu Library:

Forest Style: Camoflauge Jutsu.

Classification: S-Class Ninjutsu. Senju-based

Element: Water and Earth (Wood).

Profile: Hiding in the forest, waiting to strike, a number of any kinds of clones can hide within the forest, but not without the overlooked glaring details. It makes a good restraining technique in order for the Ninja to make the final blow.

User: Naruto Uzumaki.

Water Bomb Jutsu.

Classification: C-Rank Ninjutsu.

Element: Water.

Profile: Based off of the Shadow Clone Explosion, the Water Bomb Jutsu is used by Water Clones either for pranking use or a demonstration when dealing with a real-life situation.

User: Naruto Uzumaki.

Water Style: Whirlpool Rasengan.

Classification: B-Rank Ninjutsu. Namikaze/Uzumaki family jutsu

Element: Water and Wind for the cold factor.

Profile: When adding the element to the Rasengan, it makes a completely different attack, like the Rasenshruiken, for example. This is the result of adding Water within the Rasengan, making it feel like it came out of a recently melted snowball.

User: Naruto Uzumaki.

Lightning Style: Paralysis Point Jutsu.

Classification: C-Rank Ninjutsu. Hyuga Jutsu and Kumo Jutsu.

Element: Lightning.

Profile: Based off of the Hyuga's signature move, the Paralysis Point Jutsu is used to disable the target before going in for the kill. Although it's a Kumogakure Signature Jutsu, a few Hyuga know it.

Users: Yugito Nii, Hinata Hyuga, Neji Hyuga, and Naruto Uzumaki.

Lightning Style: Raikiri Fang.

Classification: B-Rank Ninjutsu. Hatake/Inuzuka fusion

Element: Lightning.

Profile: A mix of the Raikiri and the Twin Fang Jutsu used by the respective clans. The only ones who are able to use it are those who go into the Beast Style Taijutsu invented by the Ryuken clan. It's considered a B-Class Jutsu since the Raikiri is its father, by the way.

Users: Kakashi Hatake, Rin Inuzuka, Akito Ryuken, and Naruto Uzumaki.

(A/n: Okay, I've become Kishimoto when it comes to spoiling characters, but it's not Sasuke. To me, Sasuke died around the same time he killed Orochimaru and absorbed him into his being, which to me means that the snake was lying in wait when "Sasuke" had more screen time.

If anything, I'm sorry about the time skips and lack of fight scenes, but I'm not exactly good with them. If anything, I'm more focused on Naruto playing catch-up with his friends, and I made Inari a ninja with a logical explanation behind it. If anything, some of the Missing-Nin became Nami Jounin Senseis and Chuunin Instructiors. Raiga was the first name that came to mind, unfortunately.

Oh, and Konohamaru's fighting style is based off of Asuma's while Inari's is based off of Zabuza's. And don't complain to me about the jutsu names because I don't know Japanese other than the suffixes. And I'm better with the dub than the original footage, so it explains why I'm using mostly dub names...except for Raikiri, which sounds cooler than Lighting Edge.

And the chapters will end with either a Jutsu Library, an OC Description, or a couple omakes, so expect a few surprises from me.)


	5. Karma Rears Its Ugly Head

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 5: One Long Agonizing Month.

----

"Don't tell me," a certain blond Chuunin said, "Naruto's pulled a Sasuke?"

"Not exactly, Ino," Sakura said. "Unlike him, I at least got his location from Hinata. Sometimes, I swear she's got a spy system similar to Jiraiya-Sama's old one."

"You'd be surprised. She may have learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Other than that, I can't directly help you out."

"Why not? Naruto's basically like a walking target if he's outside the village."

"My family sells flowers, not clothes. And even if I could find him, that place is off-limits because of its value."

Sakura sighed. "At least tell me of an unbiased clothes store that he can go to."

Ino had blinked at that. "You're joking, right?" On the look on Sakura's face, she wasn't kidding around. "Oh…huh. You are serious about this."

"If you weren't my friend right now, I'd knock you into the stratosphere."

"You two talking about Dickless?" a man asked, walking into the flower shop. Sakura glared at him while Ino was confused.

"Dickless?" she asked her.

"His nickname for Naruto," Sakura replied, growling. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't pry into our business, Sai."

"I couldn't help but overhear the conversation. And it sounds like you're actually concerned about him."

"As one of his former teammates and friends, I have the right to be." _If Sai finds out about Naruto's true potential, Danzo's going to try to bend him to his will._ **"WE CAN'T AFFORD THAT TO HAPPEN! IF ANYTHING, FIND A WAY TO THROW HIM OFF SO WE CAN LOOK FOR NARUTO WITHOUT ANY INTERLOPERS!"**

Looking for a distraction, Sakura then said, "We'll talk later, Ino. Right now, I think the hospital needs another hand at work." With that, she fled the scene.

_She's hiding something,_ Sai thought. _If anything, it involves Naruto. Why did she get the impression that I was going to report to Danzo?_

"Are you going to buy something or not?" Ino asked him.

"Sorry," Sai said. "I'll see you later, Beautiful."

As he left, Ino had blushed at the nickname.

If it was anything that Sai was good at, it was scrambling the short-term memory function to one part of the human psyche.

----

Sakura was livid. In her confidence that Sai wasn't going to find out about Naruto's true potential, she failed to notice that Sai had put an ink tracer on her.

_What are you hiding?_ Sai thought to himself. _I want to know why you're trying to keep a secret from me._

The Sand Siblings, who had just arrived, had looked at this development.

"Was that Sakura being stalked?" Temari asked her brothers.

"I don't know," Gaara said, "and I don't care. Right now, we're meeting with Hokage-Sama and Rasenkage-Sama for seating arrangements. I just hope it's not a repeat of what happened when…"

"Gaara," Kankuro said, "Shukaku's gone and you're back in the land of the living. You can sleep easily now."

"I know, but my sand isn't as good as it once was. Other than being able to sleep again, I'm not as powerful as I once was."

"They say that the mind is clearer when asleep," they heard a familiar voice say, "but only when an amount of hard work takes its toll on you. Nice to see you guys again."

"Shikamaru, right?" Kankuro asked the Jounin. He nodded. "Good. We have some unfinished business to attend to."

"Later, Kankuro," Temari said. "Can't you see he's busy with something?"

Shikamaru gulped. "Right…well, Tsunade-Sama sent me as an escort to the tower. As for Konohamaru, I'm training him in my old sensei's style, so let's make this quick."

Gaara nodded, and they followed him to the Tower to take a look at an interesting sight.

"The Rasenkage wears orange?" the newcomers asked Tsunade.

"In the same style as the other Kage robes," she replied. "I don't know why, but I think it's what made Naruto a celebrity in Uzugakure."

And the proof was sitting in front of the ninja in disbelief, too.

"You can put your mouths back in position now," the Rasenkage replied.

"Sorry," Kankuro said. "Only one ninja in all of the Elemental Countries combined wears orange, so we're just surprised."

"Yeah," Shikamaru said. "We thought you would use a different color that was a little…darker."

"Other than that," Gaara said, "it's nice to meet you, Rasenkage-sama."

"Likewise, Kazekage-san," the Rasenkage replied. "And please, call me by my real name."

"And that would be…" Tsunade asked her.

----

Outside the tower, Naruto and Kakashi were still training in Taijutsu.

"WHAT!!!" they heard. The shock wave itself dispelled all of the Shadow Clones in tandem.

"The heck was that?" Naruto asked Kakashi, dazed from the memory upload.

_It had to be something that couldn't be fathomed by mankind for it to actually dispel THAT many Shadow Clones at once, _Kakashi thought. "I think it involves the meeting with the Kazekage, Hokage, and Rasenkage."

"**Damn, that was loud,**" Kyuubi said within the mind. "**And I was just getting to the best part of my dream, too.**" Believe it or not, even SHE was a pervert...and guess who she was dreaming about.

In the hospital…

"That was Tsunade-Sama, wasn't it?" Rin asked Shizune.

"No doubt about it," she replied. "And it's not a debt collector this time."

In heaven…

"What was that?" Asuma asked his poker buddies.

"Sounds like a cry of disbelief," Zabuza said.

Kushina sighed. "I'm guessing they found out that my sister's in Konoha," she said. "Now heads are going to roll because of my son's treatment."

"Refresh my memory," Jiraiya said, wincing. "Your sister does what for a living?" Believe it or not, for a reaction like THAT to occur, he couldn't afford to be perverted.

In hell…

"KEEP IT DOWN!" one of the torture devils said. "We're trying to torture the fresh ones here!"

Sasori and Deidara were groaning in their respective cells. "So, the Uchiha did what to you again?" the former puppet asked the ex-explosives expert.  
----

"Could you repeat that," Tsunade asked the Rasenkage. "I thought I heard something crazy in my ear."

Apparently, the five (Konohamaru's with Shikamaru, remember?) were stunned at this revelation.

"I said my name was Haruka Uzumaki," the Rasenkage replied. "Why, is something wrong?"

_Can't be,_ Tsunade thought. "By any chance are you related to Kushina Uzumaki?"

"She's my younger sister. Why, did something happen to her?"

Back in hell…

"We've got a problem," one of the head devils said. "Apparently, the lava's freezing."

"THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME!" the lead devil said. "If I weren't in agreement with Kami right now, I'd destroy whatever caused the disturbance."

In the Namikaze training grounds, Naruto had flinched.

"Something wrong?" Kakashi asked him.

"I just felt like something bad's going to happen," Naruto said. "If anything, heads are going to fly, and I'm not joking this time."

_This isn't good_, Kakashi thought. _If Naruto's dead serious about this, the shit's going to hit the fan. Big time._

Back in the tower, everyone was in fear. How was Tsunade going to tell her that her sister was assassinated by an enemy ninja after childbirth and her nephew was tortured by the citizens because of something out of his control?

Even the usually-stoic Gaara felt like he was going to crap his pants, and this was a rarity. Too bad they don't have a camera.

_I was right,_ Shikamaru thought. _Naruto's whole family IS troublesome, but if she finds out about Naruto's treatment, she's going to act like my Mom, only ten times as concentrated and with another Secret War in the making._

"Uh…well…" Tsunade said, "I wasn't there when it happened, but Kushina was killed by an enemy ninja after childbirth."

Haruka was sad, but something was off. "And the child?"

"You're not going to like this at all, Rasenkage-sama. He is a Ninja of Konoha…but his childhood is something we wouldn't wish on his mortal enemies."

"What happened? I heard that this place was attacked and Kushina was killed, but I wasn't aware of any developments on the child. Is the child okay?"

"Before we tell you," Gaara said, in a venomous tone, "I want you to know that if you hate him for what he contains, I won't hesitate to kill you right here and now."

"Gaara!" Tsunade yelled. "I know you and he shared the same pain, but to take it out on a fellow Kage would send an act of war between Wind Country and Whirlpool Peninsula."

Haruka was out of the loop, but she said, "It's okay, Tsunade. If anything, I'd like to hear about it."

With that, a couple bottles of sake came onto the desk, thanks to Tsunade. "You might as well have a drink, because it's one hell of a tale."

"Don't forget about us," Kakashi said, while he and Naruto entered the tower through the Hiraishin Seal. "And I think you might want to introduce yourself, Naruto."

"Rasenkage-sama," Naruto said, bowing. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Haruka replied. However, she then noticed the familiar appearance. "If I didn't know better, I'd mistake him as Minato."

Thinking quickly, Shikamaru had carried Konoha and fled the tower as fast as possible.

"What was that all about?" Konohamaru asked him.

"Let's just say that karma's about to wreak havoc on this place," Shikamaru said.

Back in the tower, seconds after Shikamaru and Konohamaru left, Tsunade started to speak. "That's…part of the reason why we're here. Haruka Uzumaki, meet Naruto Uzumaki/Namikaze."

Haruka was a bit surprised, and then said, "That explains the appearance. He's Kushina's kid?" Tsunade nodded. "Well, you look like your father, but the fire in your eyes is my sister's, although the whisker marks are odd…" She then looked at Kakashi and asked, "By any chance did you raise him?"

"To be honest, Rasenkage-sama," Kakashi said in regret, "I'm starting to wish I did. Heck, I'm training him in Lightning Jutsu right now."

"If you didn't, then who did?"

Tsunade sighed. She had to face the music sometime, but she only wished Jiraiya were still alive to hear this. "It started about sixteen years ago when the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked…"

Back in the village, around a minute beforehand…

_Sai just won't quit!_ Sakura thought. _It's like he has his eye on me all the time!_ Luckily, Shikamaru was catching his breath. _Perfect._ "Hey, Shikamaru!"

However, instead of the usual troublesome, he had gasped in fear. "Oh, it's just you, Sakura," he said. "I thought it was a crazy woman wanting revenge."

To her surprise, he wasn't referring to Ino, Temari, or even his own mother because he had said "crazy woman" instead of the name. "**MUST BE SOMETHING REALLY BAD IF HE FEELS LIKE HE'S GOT A HEART ATTACK.**" She needed a private conversation…luckily, Konohamaru was there. "Hey, Konohamaru," she said. "You see the guy with the hair and sword?"

"Yeah," he replied. "What about him."

"He insulted Naruto's manhood on separate occasions."

With that, Konohamaru went ape on the stalking Sai, who didn't see that coming. In the mess, Sakura and Shikamaru had run towards a private area (namely Ichiraku's supply shed) in order to discuss why a lot of people were distracted.

"Why did it sound like you were screaming in the Hokage Tower?" she asked him.

"You know the Rasenkage's arrival?" he asked her. She nodded. "Well, as it turns out, there are a few things about her that could set off another Secret War, and all of them involve Naruto."

Sakura froze in terror at that. "If it's any consolation, I started treating Naruto like a friend when I found out about Kyuubi, so that means I'm out of the equation, right?"

"It's worse than that. Apparently, she didn't even know he existed before today, so she might be pissed at him, pissed at the Council, or pissed at Konoha in general because of it, all of them concerning Kyuubi."

The amount of dread that filled the air would even make Kyuubi run in terror. "Wait, we know Naruto's Mom is from Uzugakure, but why does this concern the Rasenkage?"

"**SON OF A F***ING BITCH!**" Haruka yelled. "**WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED OF MY NEPHEW'S TREATMENT IN THIS KAMI-FORSAKEN VILLAGE!?!**"

_This is enough trouble to last until the end of time,_ Shikamaru thought. Concerning the look on Sakura's face, he then said, "I was going to say that the Rasenkage is Naruto's Aunt, but I think that outburst explains it all."

Sakura said nothing…other than falling in a dead faint.

_This is too much trouble, even for me. I just hope that she realizes that a few individuals weren't involved in the attacks…_

----

"You mean to tell me that because my nephew saved their lives, they see him as a monster?" Haruka asked Tsunade. "And he's been experiencing pain until he became an actual Genin after failing the exams three times, along with the fact that the so-called village pride betrayed him and everyone else here while half of the Council keeps trying to kill him?"

"Along with the war-hawk and Sandaime-Sensei's two teammates," Tsunade said, bringing out another bottle. "If anything, Danzo's grip on the village is so tight, he's basically got his own agenda for Konoha planned."

"Lucky for you, Danzo is my main target. How was he trained?"

"I can answer that," Kakashi said. "During his first few months as a Genin, the only things I trained him in were Tree Climbing, the Inner Decapitation Jutsu, and the Thousand Years of Pain. Jiraiya took him in as his apprentice because Danzo wanted me to train Sasuke only until he betrayed us. I wanted to get a second chance with him, but he left on the journey before I could find him."

"I don't think Akito told you this," Naruto said, "but he trained me under Jiraiya's orders not to tell you, because he knew you'd react this way. Other than that, I trained with Earth, Water, Wind, Wood, and Ice jutsus, but it wasn't until I went to Sunagakure that I trained in Sand Jutsu."

"I had already become a Chuunin around that time," Gaara said, "so I taught him how to combine both Wind and Earth in order to make Sand Jutsu and use it to his advantage. If anything, it was a bit of a way to say 'Thank you' for freeing me from my own personal hell. Temari had a little help, but she was teaching him some of our Wind Jutsu alongside it."

"It was difficult, considering that Wind and Earth are polar opposites, but I managed to get a few jutsu down. However, after six months there, we left for Kumogakure, but ran into Yugito Nii, who's…well, like me and Gaara, and due to Jiraiya's perversion and a sense of empathy, she trained me on how to create a Lightning Affinity. Took me five months to try it because I kept getting flashbacks about the Chidori through my chest…"

"I didn't know he would actually try to kill you!" Kakashi yelled. "If anything, I'm teaching you a countermeasure should you come across that situation again."

"I forgave you for it, but let me continue! I only knew the Paralysis Points Jutsu until we started aimlessly walking through the continents and brushing up my skills. Fortunately, I was able to defeat a few bandits and Missing Nin, so I have enough money to buy new clothes. Since I wanted to keep the idiot face until the Chuunin exams, I got the jumpsuit you see here today. The rest can be found in Konoha's archives."

Haruka thought about it for a minute or two. Her nephew had experienced hell and was almost killed by one of Akito's hated enemy clans, but had grown stronger in the process. Sure, there were a few flaws here and there, but he grew strong enough to become the next Hokage…if Danzo wasn't taken out immediately.

However, in his eyes, she could see her sister smiling at her.

"Alright," Haruka said. "I'll let him attend. However, if anyone tries to kill him, you'll find out why the Whirlpool is a bitch to navigate."

"Agreed," Tsunade said. "Kankuro, Temari, and Kakashi, can you leave for a bit? I'm setting up a sound-proof jutsu so we can have a private conversation."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," they said. With that, they walked out of the room, shut the door behind them, and they almost fainted.

"I haven't felt this much fear since when Gaara turned psycho," Kankuro said.

"Forget Gaara," Temari said. "I don't think even Shukaku could measure up to that kind of pressure."

However, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Hinata ran up. "Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, "The Rasenkage's…"

"I know," Kakashi said, shaking. "I was there when she said it, and I haven't felt this much fear since Kyuubi attacked Konoha."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "If anything, Danzo's going to find his head on a pike when he finds out about this little mess."

"How's Naruto's training?" Hinata asked him.

"Better than I thought. Apparently, he managed to complete the challenge within half the time I set for him."

"We'll be heading to our hotel room," Temari said. "Kankuro…"

Kankuro nodded, but he turned to Shikamaru and made the motions that said, plain and simple, "I'm watching you."

_This just keeps getting better and better every day,_ Shikamaru thought.

To be continued…

----

Omake 4: The Chain of Stalkers.

Sakura was annoyed that Sai had followed her, but imagine the look on her face when she finds out that Sai had placed an ink tracker on her arm.

_What are you hiding?_ He thought.

However, HE was being stalked by Ino.

_If you kept flirting with me the whole time,_ she thought, _why are you following Forehead-girl?_

In return, SHE was being stalked by Chouji.

_Why the heck are you following that guy?_ Chouji thought. _If anything, remember what happened to Sasuke._

Unexpectedly, HE was being stalked by Ayame.

_Naruto hasn't been at the stand for a while,_ she thought, _and I want answers. I'm just hoping our second-familiar customer would have them._

Oddly enough, SHE was being stalked by Teuchi, her own father.

_Normally, I'd run the stand in her absence,_ he thought, _but THIS is just prime teasing material!_

The Sand Siblings, who had just arrived, had taken a look at this odd situation.

"Now, THERE'S something you don't see every day," Kankuro said.

"It's a chain of stalkers," Gaara said, simply.

"Whatever the case may be," Temari said, "I hope Sakura's leading them out of the village."

Shikamaru was in disbelief. _What the hell is wrong with this picture?_

----

Omake 5: The Rasenkage Wants WHAT?!? (Minor Simpsons crossover)

After Kankuro, Temari, and Kakashi left, Gaara, Naruto, Tsunade, and Haruka were having a discussion.

"So, you've trained my nephew for part of a year, right?" Haruka asked Gaara.

"Yes, Haruka-Sama," he replied. "It was difficult at first, but he managed to get the elements to properly mix together. He can now do the Sand Clone, Shruiken, and some of the more…deadlier techniques, such as Desert Funeral. Other than that, his knowledge in Wind Manipulation exceeds some of our own Suna Nin."

"Excellent, then. Now, does he have a relationship with anyone, Tsunade-san?"

"Well," Tsunade said, "he's befriended a lot of people outside the village, one of them being the Princess of Snow Country, but none actually declared a notion of love. On the other hand, two of those who know his hidden intelligence include my apprentice, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyuga, the Heiress, but those are the only known women."

"Wait," Naruto said. "Hinata likes me?"

"Everyone except you can see it as plain as day."

"Well," Haruka said, "since Minato and Hiashi planned it from birth, and Sakura knows about his furry friend, then there's no problem."

There was a small amount of disbelief in that sentence…but Naruto said, "You know about the Clan Restoration Act?"

"Know about it? We implemented it in our lifestyle after the Rock-Leaf War. Heck, the reason why Matsudo has two females for teammates is not only the balance of grades, but also the law." Underneath a Genjutsu was a lecherous grin that would rival Jiraiya's own.

However, Tsunade could see the book in her robe. _Oh, dear Kami in heaven, please don't let it be what I think it is._ "What kind of reading material is that?"

"The very last issue of Icha Icha Paradise. Why?"

Sure enough, everyone reacted oddly. Gaara was mildly interested, Tsunade took another bottle of Sake and chugged it down, and Naruto was banging his head against the wall.

_First Iruka, then Kakashi, then Ebisu, then Jiraiya, then Akito, then Kyuubi, and now my own Aunt!?! What kind of deity did I piss of in order to be cursed with perverts for the duration of my life? Hang on a second…_ "Why do you even carry it around with you in the first place?"

"In order to make sure which position you're comfortable with your spouse or two. I'm not getting any younger, and I would at LEAST like it if I had something close to Grandchildren in the near future."

Since the Privacy Jutsu was disrupted because Haruka unintentionally said she was a pervert, Naruto went true to his loudmouth mask and shouted to the heavens above.

"That's the third worst obscenity I've ever heard in my entire life," a nearby alien said, somewhere on the Moon.

----

(A/n: The first omake here was based off of Episode 2 of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, only Sai was stalking Sakura for answers instead of love. If anyone could be stalking Teuchi, it would have to be Tsume, then Kiba, then Hana, and the list goes on. The second one, however, is basically something similar to what would be considered as 'a man's worst nightmare,' and in front of your best friend and someone who's like a Grandmother to you. The alien that said that was either Kang or Kodos from the Simpsons.

After writing this chapter, I had gone to the conclusion that I am a sadistic son-of-a-bitch. And Danzo's going to get his commupance later in this story.)


	6. Turnabout Council and Final Fight

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 6: The Third Exam…Hits the Fan.

----

Since Kakashi was impressed that he completed his challenge, Haruka decided to teach him Kenjutsu in the remaining two weeks of the break.

However, Tsunade had called the Council in on an important meeting.

"Everyone," Tsunade said, "I have some news concerning one of our own Shinobi."

"You finally decided to kill the demon?" one of the civilians asked her.

"Let her finish," Danzo said. "If anything, I hope she came to her senses and handed over the Kyuubi to me."

_If you think you can influence the Council, Danzo,_ Tsunade thought, _then you're in for a rude awakening._ "In order to tell you about him, I must ask you this: What makes someone evil?"

No one had expected that question to come up. However, Hiashi had answered, "They have to have a lust for power, pride that their bloodline is unstoppable, and an ego the size of the Hokage Monument, which is what happened to some of our finer Shinobi." He had glared at Danzo in secrecy.

"Thank you, Hiashi," Tsunade said. "As of right now, the Rasenkage…has declared a ceasefire on Konoha concerning that nobody harms Naruto Uzumaki."

The reaction to half the Council was expected. "What concern is the Demon Brat to her?" a civilian asked her.

"Let her explain why the Rasenkage is involved with Naruto," Shikaku Nara said. "I'm sure it's logical enough to put up this decree."

"It is, Shikaku," Tsunade replied in a grim tone. "Before I explain, let's start with a little history lesson. During the Kyuubi attack, it was said that Kushina Uzumaki had died of childbirth. If anything, I found that out to be a sixteen-year-old lie for two reasons: The only way for her to die of childbirth is if she didn't have the will to go on, which was unlikely since her willpower exceeds my own. The second reason is this: There was a stab wound that was set hours after the Fourth sealed Kyuubi within Naruto, which means that someone who had access to the Hospital sixteen years ago had murdered Kushina Uzumaki in cold blood, and Naruto couldn't have done it."

Danzo was beginning to sweat at this. "Whatever evidence you have does not matter. All we know is that Naruto is a threat that should be silenced immediately."

_GOTCHA!_ Tsunade thought. "Oh, really? Just a couple minutes ago, you wanted Naruto in an ANBU division that was disbanded by the Third himself, and you want what could possibly be a shining hope to be a mindless weapon of war."

"You know nothing of Danzo's intentions for Konoha," Koharu said.

"Besides," Homura said, "Kushina's child had died through the Kyuubi attack! For all we know, he could have taken Minato's form and Kushina's last name!"

_Are you as deaf as you are stupid?_ Tsume thought. "Then what was that scream of rage that came from the Hokage Tower earlier?" she asked them, to their surprise. "Even with enhanced hearing, it felt like it was close to home!"

"And how would you know about what it looked like?" Inoichi Yamanaka asked them. "Even though kitsunes are shape shifters, I would've sensed the demonic thoughts immediately. Besides, the only other blond-haired ninjas that live in this village is my own, so if what you claim is true, he could at LEAST take the form of a dead relative of mine fully grown or a well-known Shinobi from another country, but not a newborn baby!"

"Which brings us back to the original argument," Tsunade said. "From a reliable source, I found out that the Kyuubi was looking for someone in this village. With the identification given to me, the man had the appearance of an Akatsuki member with an orange mask, but there was a glaring part of the mask that stood out. A Doujutsu that Konoha knows all too well."

"So what?" Danzo yelled. "It could have been looking for a Hyuga."

"Normally, that would be the case," Hiashi said, "but none of our clan members have left Konoha during that time."

"Which leads us to Kyuubi's true target," Tsunade said. "THE UCHIHA CLAN!"

Everyone was shocked by it.

"What do you mean by that?" Danzo asked her. "The Kyuubi was looking for the Uchiha? There's no evidence involving it!"

"How would you know that, Danzo? If anything, what I have here is crucial evidence that the Uchiha were involved with the Kyuubi AND a hidden plot to overthrow the Sandaime around the time of the Uchiha Massacre." With that in hand, she had taken out a scroll. "If anything, the Sharingan bloodline was founded by Madara Uchiha as a gift from Kyuubi herself, and I'm serious about that part. You know the basics of the Sharingan already, but the shocking part is what happens when the user extracts his own brothers' eyes: They can defeat a Biju that has eight tails or less and can CONTROL the Kyuubi unless contained and SEALED within a newborn human being, that human being being Naruto Uzumaki himself."

"How do we know that document isn't a forgery?" Danzo asked her. Apparently, he was losing his grip on the council.

"Because two of our Shinobi DIED to keep it from happening. One of them happened to be my friend and departed teammate Jiraiya while the other was the one who tried to prevent all this from happening. That someone…was our Akatsuki Double-Agent Itachi Uchiha!"

Sure enough, everyone was surprised.

"How come we weren't informed of it?" Shibi Aburame asked her.

"The order was made by the Sandaime alone," Tsunade replied, "and it was to keep Naruto and Sasuke AWAY from Madara."

"Impossible!" Koharu yelled. "Madara died years ago!"

"Not if the Sharingan's true function involved eternal youth," a new face said. "Sorry if I let myself in, Tsunade-Sama, but I'd rather support those who don't dump us for trash."

Everyone was shocked at who entered the room.

"Is there any reason why we shouldn't arrest you now?" Chouza Akimichi asked him.

"Because it involves Madara's plan to overtake Konoha at the end of the Chuunin Exams, and I figured that I would at least say goodbye to an old friend."

"What plan?" Danzo asked in desperation. "If anything, you could be setting us up for a trap right now!"

"If he was," Inoichi said, "he would've done it by now. Continue, Pein."

"Thank you," he said. "When Sarutobi's Team Seven was founded, the Nidame was still ruling Konoha after suffering a great loss. Unfortunately, no one knew about the Sharingan's true potential. No one…except Orochimaru. Right now, Madara was about to dump us for Sasuke, and he had the intense smell of snake on his person when he joined. However, it was through his initiation that I found out that the young Uchiha was already dead. His Cursed Seal had disappeared and when he deactivated the Sharingan, instead of the black eyes that Itachi had, they were yellow like a serpent's eyes."

Tsume looked him over. "No wonder that you, the mostly unflappable Pein of Akatsuki, smell like fear."

"That can only mean one thing," Tsunade said. "When Orochimaru died in the process of regeneration, he had killed Sasuke by being absorbed into his body, perfecting the Immortality Jutsu he had created."

"But that still doesn't answer why Naruto is involved with the Rasenkage!" Danzo yelled.

"Danzo," Shikaku said, "didn't you pay attention to the earlier story? The Rasenkage's pissed because someone within Konoha's Shinobi ranks had killed Kushina and made Naruto's life a living hell. I guess it proves that you're a little oblivious when it comes to family matters, aren't you?"

"Not what I would've said," Tsunade said, "but you get the idea."

Now, Danzo had lost it. "WHAT KIND OF MEETING IS THIS?!? You expect me to believe that you called us over our daily lives in order to solve a guessing game that diverts to the Demon Brat and his mother's relative about to declare war on Konoha with the truth of the Sharingan?!? If you hadn't come into the picture, I would've made Konoha the perfect city of soldiers after killing the Son of the goddamned Fourth Hokage!!!"

Sure enough, everyone had stared at Danzo with mixed reactions. Tsume was growling, Shibi's bugs were buzzing with anger, Hiashi had activated his Byakugan, Shikaku's shadow was pulsating, Chouza stopped eating, Inoichi's mind was pulsing, Pein's eyes started glowing, and the Civilian Council were aghast at the part where he said that Naruto was the Fourth's Son.

"Congratulations, Danzo," Ibiki said, putting chakra restraints on him. "You just earned yourself a trip to the Execution Chamber."

"But…but…but…but…"

"I think we've heard enough of your lies," a Civilian Council member with pink hair said. "If anything, I think we all owe Naruto Namikaze our sincerest apologies."

"Good luck with that," Pein said as he watched Danzo being dragged towards his fate. "If anything, some of you actually participated, so it wouldn't exactly make sense for you to start turning face immediately. If anything, I think the only way he'll forgive you is if you all get your head out of your asses on famous people and bloodlines and start acting like the kind-hearted citizens Hiruzen-san had looked over during his prime."

"Then you mind if I bring up the question, then?" Hiashi asked. "Who had killed Kushina?"

"Even if I told you all," Tsunade said, "it wouldn't make a bit of difference. The man who was set to watch her at the time is…or was Kabuto Yakushi, and that's enough to make Haruka to go on a suicide mission. The Uzumaki clan values family over anything else."

"Then how did Ibiki get here?" Inoichi asked her.

"Genjutsu," Hiashi simply said.

Pein then sighed. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be heading off towards the execution chamber to join Danzo on death row," he said.

"Wait," Tsunade said. "You came here not to just inform us of the attack, right?"

"I killed my own Sensei, for crying out loud! What else would I tell you about? Besides, one of the charges happens to be breaking and entering just a few hours ago."

"I can't argue with that, but since you're no longer part of Akatsuki, you could help us with security."

"You're not going to let me leave until I decide to live, are you?" Tsunade nodded. "Alright, but not because I'm under…how many months probation?"

"9 months, considering you killed a Sannin."

"Nine months…but because I have some catching up to do with my nephew and teach him about the darker side of the Senju Bloodline."

"Alright, but you're pretty much under house arrest, so you're stuck with me for the time being."

Nagato had groaned. _Of all the people that became Hokage, it had to be my own mother. I'm pretty sure Dad and Minato-otou are laughing in their graves right now…_

In heaven, Jiraiya was laughing his arse off.

"What's so funny?" Kushina asked him.

"Tsunade just grounded Nagato…for nine months. Can you believe that? He's been a Missing Nin for a long time, and he gets grounded!" With that, Jiraiya had continued laughing until he died…again.

In the Shinigami's stomach, Minato was laughing.

"Something amuse you right now?" Hiruzen asked him.

"Nothing much," he replied. "Just felt a really humorous situation right now."

"CAN YOU IDIOTS KEEP IT DOWN?" The Shinigami yelled. "I'M TRYING TO GO TO SLEEP HERE!"

----

With that, the day that the Chuunin Exams had risen, and all the contestants had arrived on time. Heck, even Naruto arrived on time, but had noticed something was off.

"Something on your mind, Naruto?" he heard a familiar voice say.

"Hey, Iruka-Sensei," Naruto said. "Actually, I'm feeling a little…well, relieved. I don't know what happened, but the glares are finally gone now."

"Well, if anything, a LOT of people sees you in a different light right now and the meeting the Hokage set up last night might have been part of it." _From what Hokage-sama told me, he had actually fooled us by putting his true skills into his pranks. Still, you came this far, Naruto, and I couldn't be more proud._ "Other than that, Tsunade assigned me to proctor the Third Exam since Genma's…well, out of commission."

"What happened?"

"He and a couple ANBU members were to take out any resistance force that was loyal to Danzo, two of them being Homura and Koharu, and now he's unconscious."

"I hope he gets better then."

"Oh, and one more thing Naruto…Good luck."

Naruto smiled an actual grin that time.

"If you're not Naruto Uzumaki and Matsudo Kagura, please leave the arena! The first match will begin soon."

With that, everyone except for Naruto and Matsudo left the arena.

"Fighters ready?" Iruka asked them.

"Hang on," Naruto said. He then took off his jumpsuit and threw it onto the ground, making a crater in the process. "Not exactly as big as the last one you've seen me in, but it's still heavy as hell."

The thought that went through everyone's mind at the time was '_The grotesque orange jumpsuit was training weights the whole time?'_

"Okay then. BEGIN!" With that, Iruka leaped out of the vicinity and Naruto and Matt clashed weapons.

Matt smirked. "Looks like Rasenkage-sama taught you her sword style."

"She has a lot of missed time to work on," he replied, "but she's a good trainer."

With that, they broke apart with Matt using his sword to make markings onto the ground.

"What is he doing?" Sakura asked Akito.

"Basically, Matsudo has a habit of writing markings on the battlefield, but I can tell he's been saving it for this kind of occasion."

"No kidding," Shikamaru said. "What is he doing?"

"What Rasenkage-sama considers a Kagura Clan Technique," Akito replied.

"**KAGURA STYLE: CONCRETE JUNGLE JUTSU!**"

With that, the markings had something coming out of them. What looked like a metallic forest turned out to be something like a jungle gym, only bigger and a LOT more complicated.

"Why do you think I wanted to fight you so badly?" Matt said, coming out of one of the poles.

Naruto smirked. "Your bloodline, right? An affinity for metal sounds something similar to my own."

"We'll discuss family plans later, then. **KAGURA STYLE: PIPESPEAR JUTSU!**" From the poles came pipes that looked like they were slanted to the shape of a spear.

_Ah, crap!_ Naruto thought. With quick thinking, he had dodged some of the pipes, but one of them struck the side of the arm. _That's pretty accurate. Better think of a counter-attack…_

"Is that all you got?" Naruto yelled. "I know someone who can destroy these things like glass."

"Your funeral, then," Matt said. Sure enough, the spears were in clear vicinity.

_Perfect._ As they fired, what they hit dead on…was a Shadow Clone.

"What?"

"**LIGHTNING STYLE: SPIRAL MAELSTROM HARBOR JUTSU!**" That was heard from above and in Naruto's arm was what looked like an electric version of the Rasengan, only had a point in the tip of the blade that was aiming at Matt…but it turned out to be a cleverly disgused Genjutsu with fishcake topping within a water balloon.

Matt was scared out of his wits…then said, "But I thought…"

"Had I actually done that, Matt," he replied, "you wouldn't exactly fulfill the dream of becoming the Rasenkage, would you? Besides, Akito would kill me if I killed you."

Matt smiled. "Thanks, man. Looks like I get to fight another day. I surrender, Proctor."

Iruka smirked. "Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Sure enough, everyone cheered for him.

However, behind the shadows, two men were planning.

"Those fools have no idea we're even here," Madara said. "This will be as easy as shooting fish in a barrel."

"Too bad that fool Danzo got executed," Orochimaru said. "Without him, we can't exactly resort to Plan B."

"Does it matter? We only need two bodies in order to psyche Tsunade out."

"And the best part is…no one even knows we're here."

"That would work," a familiar voice said, "if we weren't already told of this development."

To their shock, Tsunade was right their in front of them.

"How did you even know?" Madara yelled.

"I told you that Pein would betray us!" Orochimaru yelled. "We'll have to execute the original plan."

"You mean…" a familiar voice said, "the one where you use two dead bodies in order to form past loved ones against us?" Naruto was in the tree. "You and I have a score to settle, Orochimaru."

"Weren't you in the arena?" Madara asked him.

"How did you even find out about your heritage?" Orochimaru asked him.

"Jiraiya," both Tsunade and Naruto said in tandem.

"I should have known…"

"Informed or not," Madara said, "you can't stop us from turning Konoha into an All-Uchiha Village along with the rest of the world."

"Kabuto!" Orochimaru yelled.

With that, the attack was set. In the chaos, Tsunade and Orochimaru had leaped towards the buildings to find a battlefield suitable for their final battle while Naruto attacked Madara and used the Hiraishin to a place AWAY from Konoha.

The war between Akatsuki and Konoha…has begun.

To be continued…

----

(A/n: The first part of the chapter was something I'd like to call Turnabout Council. However, I couldn't exactly put an omake of that in there, so consider it an omake within this story's continuity.

And I didn't forget Kabuto. He was out rallying ninja from Iwa and former Oto ninja. How he got the Iwa Ninja was through four simple words: "The Yellow Flash Lives."

I also have no intention on Tsunade dying, but those who have seen the fight between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru would recognize the place, as well as the battlefield where Naruto faces off against Madara. Heck, Naruto will REALLY hate Deja vu this time.)


	7. Red Dawn vs Konoha part 1

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 7: Fight for Life! Sai vs Kabuto!

----

It was the same situation at the same place at the same time. Only difference was…Konoha was ready.

"Not exactly the best time to mention this," Matsudo said, "but I saw Naruto go after some guy in an orange mask."

"Why didn't you stop him?" Nagato asked him.

"He was gone before I could stop him!"

"Worry about him later," Kakashi said. "Right now, we've got bigger fish to fry."

With some of the other Chuunin fighting the Oto and Iwa Nin, they were having an easier time.

However, Shikamaru noticed something in the distance. "Guys, Tsunade's chasing Sasuke!"

"That's not Sasuke," a woman said, drop-kicking a nearby Oto Nin. "Not anymore."

Tayuya recognized her. "Karin? What are you doing here?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, there are Iwa summons coming your way!"

Tayuya growled. "I'm on it!"

"Wait up!" Sakura said. "One person can't hold a mass Genjutsu alone. Besides, Haku's a better medic than I am."

Tayuya smirked. "Alright, but you're my defense! If you die, I'll drag your fucking ass back to the living so I'll kill you myself."

"That's something I expect from a friend's sister."

With that, Tayuya and Sakura met up with Ibiki at the gate.

"How many of them are there?" she asked him.

"Apparently, these are the ones who lost everything to the Yondaime," he replied. "And look who's leading them."

"Kabuto," Tayuya said, recognizing him. "I'm guessing that he's a backup body for Orochimaru. If anything, I'll take him on my…"

"You'll distract the Nin from getting to the gate," Sai said, appearing. "As for Kabuto, his ass is mine!"

"Who gave you the order to take him directly?" Ibiki asked him.

"Wait a second," Sakura said. "Sai, what's your true name?"

"Saito Yakushi."

With that, she understood why. "Take him out."

"With pleasure." With that, he used Shunshin to get towards his target.

"Why'd you let him take the incentive?" Tayuya asked her.

"Would you have done the same if it were Naruto's body taken over by Orochimaru?"

"I would, but…"

"Distract them. I'm taking on some of the higher officers."

With that, Tayuya was staring at her in disbelief.

"I will never understand Konoha Nin," she muttered.

"Get used to it," Ibiki said. "She's going to be a possible sister-in-law."

Tayuya smirked. "Get Anko ready. It's chow time." At that, she began playing her flute.

"**SUMMONING JUTSU!**" Sakura yelled, summoning the Slug queen. "Let's get wild!"

----

With Tsunade and Orochimaru, they had finally made it towards the building where Sarutobi died.

"How's this for irony?" Orochimaru asked her. "You and I get to battle where I killed Sarutobi-sensei."

"You know the difference between Sarutobi and me?" Tsunade asked in return. "He didn't have fellow Kages supporting him."

In a storm of sand, Gaara had appeared in place. "You will pay for your insolence," he said.

A tornado of water appeared, revealing Haruka. "I can see why Akito hates the Uchiha Clan," she said. "Those eyes do not suit you at all."

"It wouldn't matter," Orochimaru said. "All that matters is that I have the perfect eyes, eternal youth, and a jutsu to make you relive your worst memories as well as bring back the dead…for a price of two souls, of course."

"Why do you think I disagreed on that deal in the first place?"

"When I'm through with you, you'll regret not agreeing." As he was starting to start the seals for the technique, a Kunai had grazed his skin. "What?"

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment," a female voice said, landing on the building. "However, I think the Kages have the first right to take you out. I'll make sure you're stuck in a torture chamber just wishing that you were dead."

Orochimaru growled. "Lucky for you, I can only access the Curse Seal from within this body for the time being…wait a second. What happened to the…" He then growled. "I swear, the Kyuubi Brat will pay."

"You'll have to get past us first, Orochimaru," Gaara said.

Orochimaru smirked. _All of you are fools for taking the Kage title. Once Madara-sama finishes off the Kyuubi Brat, the Deadly Alliance will take over the Elemental Countries._

----

In the middle of a nearby gorge, there was a seal flashing yellow. From it were Naruto and Madara, falling out in mid-flight and into the water.

It wasn't until Naruto got up did he notice his surroundings. "You have got to be shitting me," he said.

It was the Valley of the End.

"How ironic," Madara said. "The very same place I killed the Shodaime…the same place you lost against Sasuke…do you not see a pattern?"

"Yeah, but the Nidame struck you and left you for dead, so the pattern's in my favor this time. Then again, I never believed in fate."

"You know, you and I don't have to fight. With the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox in your blood, we can conquer the world."

"**You're not going to accept his deal, are you?**" Kyuubi asked him. _I think I'll humor him while you think of a plan. If anything, guys like him tend to monologue to the point where they leave you in an easily escapable trap with a platform that leads you to the way out._ "**Thank Kami. Madara tricked me once before and I would possibly berate you for falling into the same trap. It never ends peacefully with guys like him.**"

"What's in it for me?" Naruto asked him.

"You can have fame, fortune, possibly the spot on the Hokage Monument, and women, if they're willing enough to do so. If not, you can always break some stuff. I've heard it's very therapeutic. All you have to do is say the word."

"**I got one, but you'll have to act like you're considering the answer.**"

"Hang on a sec," Naruto said. _Madara's rambling. What's the plan?_

After a couple minutes, Madara said, "Do we have a deal?"

"Your offer sounds tempting, Madara," Naruto said, raising his fist like a Roman Emperor in the Colosseum. "I've been hurt all my life and some of them really deserve it. All I have to say is…DENIED!" He had pointed his thumb down when he said that.

"What? Why deny my request?"

"Ever heard the saying 'Power Corrupts. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely'? You, obviously, are basically the picture boy in that philosophy book. I made a promise to an old friend that I would become Hokage through skill and honor alone, and if I broke that promise, I'd be miserable for the rest of my life. I now promise you this: I will kill you, even if it takes me the rest of my life to do so. That's my Nindo, and I'm sticking to it."

Madara growled. "You're just like him," he said. "Too much like him. For that, I'll kill you!"

"BRING IT!"

----

Near Konoha's border, Kabuto was smirking.

_Even with Tayuya helping them out_, Kabuto thought, _there is no way that they can stop Iwakagure's thirst for Naruto's blood. It's just a damn shame that I have to kill her as well. I did like her…to one point._

Through Kabuto's thoughts, he didn't expect Sai to do a sneak-attack on him.

"What? YOU?"

Sai had nearly slashed him, and the battlefield was set.

"What are you doing here?" Kabuto asked him. "I thought Ibiki killed you with the rest of your teammates!"

"Had I not joined up with Naruto and Sakura," Sai said, "I would have. Right now, you and I have unfinished business to attend to, brother."

Kabuto was shocked, then smirked. "Looks like you figured it out. No matter. I shall kill you right where you stand!" With that, Kabuto took a copy of Kusanagi out and he and Sai locked swords with each other.

Unfortunately, Sai had his style deliberately nulled down to the point where he was an amateur thanks to Danzo's limited training. Kabuto wasn't faring any better, either, since he was a med-nin than an offensive one.

"Time to end this! **POISON FANG!**" The last slash had created a shockwave towards Sai, nearly cutting him…but it only taks a near-miss for the poison to run through his system.

"What did you do to me?" he asked him.

"Proved that you're inferior to me in swordplay," he said. "Now, time for you to die and join your comrades in HELL!"

However, Sai had turned into a puddle of ink before Kabuto could land a final blow.

_The Replacement Technique? No, it's a Ink Clone…but that means…_

Shink!

Through his abdomen, Sai's sword had made its mark.

Kabuto smirked. "You think that could stop me? I can self-regener—." However, that part was cut off when Sai's sword went upwards, killing him where it doesn't grow back.

_I can't say I enjoyed that,_ he thought, _but I can say it's the best for the both of us. Say hi to that bastard Danzo for me._

"Sai!" he heard someone yell. Tayuya walked up to him. "Nice work…for a ROOT Shrub."

"He needed this more than I did," Sai said. "Once infected by Orochimaru, even the loyal ones become corrupted. I just had to do it before he gained access to the Curse Seal."

"Whatever. And for the record, you won't believe who helped out with the Genjutsu, and I thought she died when Orochimaru did the Impure Ressurection technique."

"Anyone else involved with that?"

"Not until today. From what I heard, Suigetsu and Juugo, according to Karin, went in a suicide mission, and now their bodies are being used for the same technique. Other than that, the Iwa nins broke through the gate."

Sai growled. "If it's not one thing, it's another. We'd better support the others." With that, the both of them had rushed towards the inner battlefield. _Tsunade. Naruto. It's up to the both of you now._

To be continued…

----

Omake 6: Winning The Game (Minor Highlander Crossover).

"What did you do to me?" Sai asked Kabuto, who used a Chakra Wave from Kusanagi to poison him.

"Proved that you're inferior to me in swordplay," he replied. "Now it's time for you to die and join your comrades in HELL!" As he swung the sword, he also lobbed off Sai's head in the process…

_Something's wrong. I should be getting immense power by now, but is the rarity that strong?_

His answer was given when the corpse turned into a puddle of ink.

_An Ink Clone? But that means…_

SHINK!

Kabuto was stabbed in the heart by Sai's sword.

In disbelief, Kabuto said, "I never would have thought of using ninjutsu in this."

"Ninjas never follow rules," Sai said. As soon as Kabuto's knees gave out, Sai then yelled out, "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!"

That's when Kabuto's head came off…and Sai gained immense power. He was tipsy in the process, though…

"You have done well," a spectral figure said. "Use your powers wisely, my son."

"I will, MacLeod-Sensei," he said. "I will."

Tayuya was watching the whole thing from afar…then smirked. _I can see why he wanted to fight him alone._

"We need to get back to the village," Tayuya said. "I'm assuming you're good?"

"Never better, Siren," Sai said, much to Tayuya's annoyance. "However, my target was Kabuto. If anything, I can't interfere with Tsunade and Naruto's battles."

With a new found power at his disposal, he and Tayuya had raced back to the village.

From this day forward, Sai was listed in the Bingo Books as "Konoha's Highlander," much too a few Nins' disbelief.

----

Omake 7: Um…what? (Robot Chicken parody…mostly)

"**You're not going to accept this deal, are you?**" Kyuubi asked Naruto.

In the Valley of the End, Naruto was listening intently to Madara's rambling, but he knew that ultimate power came with a price.

_I'm the hero, he's the bad guy. I'm not going to accept his offer even if he comes up with an invalid explanation like…_

"Naruto Uzumaki," Madara said, "I…AM your Father."

Apparently, that kind of reasoning is basically what he was referring to.

"That's not true," Naruto said, deadpanning. "That's impossible."

"And Sakura Haruno is your sister."

"That's not true! That's…improbable." The chances were low, but there was a possibility that she could be part of his Mom's side of the family. Pink was a lower form of red.

"And Akatsuki will be defeated by toads!"

"That's…most likely going to happen."

"And as a child, I was a Hyuga branch member!"

Naruto was dumbfounded…and Kyuubi was shocked.

"**Actually, that last part's true.**"

Hours later…

"And Chakra?" Madara asked him while drinking a bit of coffee. "That's basically a result of humans and demons mating thousands of years ago."

After finishing his Ramen, Naruto had enough of his rambling. "Other than the last few things," he said, "there are two things wrong with your theory: One, my Dad's the Yellow Flash. And two, we're trying to avoid THAT cliché. So if you're not going to take this seriously, all I have to say is this: Life is like a box of chocolate…but yours is like a box of ACTIVE GRENADES!" To emphasize that, Naruto pulled out a box of Active Grenades and threw it at Madara, blowing him up.

----

Omake 8: (Insert Your Mama Joke Title Here. Robot Chicken parody)

"Your overconfidence is your weakness," Naruto said to Madara.

"Your faith in your village is yours," Madara replied.

Now, Naruto was a bit of a strategist, but he and Kyuubi would plan this thoroughly, and if his parents were watching…well, he's going to have a LOT of explaining to do with his mother and his father (within the stomach of the Shinigami) will wonder HOW he made a Shiki Fuuin seal WITHOUT the cost of life.

"I have faith in your Mama," Naruto muttered, hoping that Madara would hear…and it worked.

"What was that?"

"I said, your Mama's so fat, Ichibi no Shukaku said 'DAMN!'" Kyuubi had snickered at that. It was one of her favorite insults back in the Demon World.

"Well, your Mama smells so foul, she founded the Aburame clan."

With that, the gauntlet was thrown. "**SHIKI FUUIN: DEATH GOD CONTEST!**" The Death God himself answered the call…and appeared along with the four previous Hokages…with Hiruzen and Minato staring at him in shock.

"Naruto, what's the meaning of this?" Sarutobi asked him.

"I called the Death God to referee," he replied. "Trust me on this. And hi, Dad."

"That explains why he's lying in wait," Minato said. "You modified the Shiki Fuuin?"

"In a way that says, 'I won't seal you inside me.' It's basically a gangster version of it."

"Makes sense. I'll have to tell Tsunade to mark it as a Double-S-Rank Kinjutsu later…or you could if you lived."

Sure enough, the scoreboard was set up. "The rules of this match are simple," Shinigami said. "There are no limits to the insult, and you can use something you know of in order to amplify the insult. If you lose, I devour your soul for a thousand years. In other words, don't lose. NOW LET'S START IT!"

Naruto and Madara had stared each other down.

"Your Mama's so stupid," Naruto said, "She kept saying 'She doesn't know' to Shino!"

There was a slight snicker at that.

"Your Mama's so fat," Madara said, "not even the Hokage Monument could put up with her weight!"

_Kushina's going to kill him if he ever gets out,_ Minato said.

"Your Mama's so stupid, she couldn't even find the punch line in one of the Pervy Sage's books!"

Hiruzen, Minato, and the Shinigami were laughing out loud. The other two just snickered.

"Well, your Mama's so fat, she thinks…that there was a low-carb version of the Naruto paste on top of Ramen."

Sadly, no one got the joke.

"I thought you named him after Jiraiya's protagonist," Hiruzen said.

"I did," Minato replied. "Unfortunately, this is a misinterpretation. And Kushina HATES the Atkins diet with a passion."

_Perfect._ "Your Mama's so stupid, she went to bang cock to be a Council Member!"

"Did you just call my mother a stupid ho?" Madara asked him, angry.

"Naruto wins," the Shinigami said. "Thanks for angering him. That was one of the ways you lose in this kind of match, the other being able to make a better comeback."

Madara, believe it or not, was furious and freaked out at the same time. Unfortunately for him, he died with his soul taken out of his body and into the Shinigami's mouth.

Minato was impressed. "I have to hand it to you, son," he said. "You have a knack for making jutsu that can confuse the hell out of your opponent."

"I'm assuming Grampa Saru told you about my Kage-Killer Kinjutsu?" Naruto asked him.

"The same one," Hiruzen said, "although it doesn't seem to be the case with Tsunade in office this time."

Naruto nodded. He may be a prankster, but he wasn't stupid enough to actually TRY that trick on her. He LIKED to pee standing up.

(A/n: Okay, I may have modified that last one…and if anything, the Highlander moment was ALSO inspired by Robot Chicken. The quote Naruto made to Madara was from Family Guy. And yes…Kushina WILL be pissed at Madara if Omake 8 were actually canon.)


	8. Red Dawn vs Konoha part 2

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 8: Fight for Life! The Kages vs Orochimaru!

----

Around the same time Sai started fighting Kabuto, the battle between those whom Orochimaru has wronged and Orochimaru himself had began.

"**DEATH VISION JUTSU!**" Orochimaru yelled, attempting to freeze them in their tracks. The illusion of their own deaths stopped them in their tracks and Orochimaru charged at them…but he had forgotten about Anko, who kicked him in the stomach.

"Nice try, asshole!" she yelled.

"I forgot about you. This is a bit awkward. However, I can do this now! **MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN: TSUKIYOMI!"**

With that, Anko had found herself inside her own mind with Orochimaru and a pit of snakes.

"For the next 72 hours, Anko, you will feel the pain of the Cursed Seal through a snake on your right shoulder." Almost immediately after that, she felt a snake bite her on the neck where the seal used to be. "71 hours and 59 minutes to go, and you'll be feeling immense pain at the end of that time."

_It hurts,_ she thought, writhing in pain. _I can't exactly get the snake off of me with two others crawling by my wrists in a cuff formation. It's like Orochimaru had been planning this from the start…that little pervert._

"Trying to make a sexual fantasy from the Sharingan's illusion?" a male voice said. "That's low, even for you, Orochimaru." With that, the mental representation had punched the intruder in the face.

"Akito?" she asked him.

"Hold still," another voice said. Apparently, Naruto was in here as well as he cut the snakes off. "Oh, and we're your mental defenses, by the way."

"Thanks, I guess."

Orochimaru growled at them. "I didn't think that the mind would fight back," he said. "However, I'll kill you in real life so this doesn't happen."

"Kill who," Anko asked him. "Me…or them? If anything, it's because of people like them that I stayed loyal to Konoha in the first place. Right now, it's payback time."

Outside the mind, Anko stood steady while Orochimaru's face was in pain.

"How did you manage to get him out of your mind like that?" Tsunade asked her.

"Looks like Kakashi's training paid off," Anko said, cracking her neck. "Oh well. I'm surprised that hurt you."

"No matter," Orochimaru said. "I'll just kill you all where you stand."

"Not likely," Gaara said, getting his sand ready. "**DESERT COFFIN!**" The sand went around Orochimaru…"**DESERT FUNERAL!"** …and crushed him where he stood…mostly.

"You think a little dune could stop me?" Orochimaru asked them. "I am invincible!"

_This is not good,_ Tsunade thought. _The combination of his snake-like tendencies AND the Eternal Mangekyou has made him near impenitrable. I just hope Naruto's doing better on his end._

----

_Looks like his bite's as good as his bark,_ Naruto thought, dodging another Fire Dragon. _Where the heck does he put all that Chakra?_

"Do you not see the beauty of ultimate power?" Madara asked him. "It's what that fool threw away when he ruled with a kind fist! With the power of the Eternal Sharingan, the whole village of Konoha would be unstoppable!"

"Don't you ever shut up?" Naruto asked him, punching him in the stomach.

Both of them continued to use their battle of power…well, Madara's been spewing fire jutsu while Naruto was just trying not to get singed.

_Is there even a weakness to this guy?_

"**Other than his overconfidence? Unfortunately, no. However, you can try to get him where he's most vulnerable, and that's the spot where he doesn't look.**"

_Thanks for the heads up, Kyu. And I'll try not to become Roast Fox beforehand._

Looking for a weak spot, Naruto dodged the fireballs. _Apparently, that mask of his is blocking his awareness…or he's hiding something. And it looks like he's using Water Walking to the extreme…so I'd better go under._ With that in mind, he dove into the water and made a few hand-signs.

"What's that sound?" Madara asked himself. Looking underneath, he saw the water have red eyes. "OH SHI—!" The watery dragon had eaten him whole, putting out the fire.

Surfacing, Naruto took a look at Madara and saw that his mask was still on. _It's like it's glued to his face! How the hell am I supposed to take a look at it! It's like another version of Kakashi!_

"Nice moves, brat," Madara said, growling at him. "However, did you think a mere Water Dragon Jutsu could beat me? I think it's about time we went towards round two!"

That was when five Water Dragons went around Madara, much to the shock of Kyuubi and Naruto.

"**SECRET MIST STYLE: WATER DRAGON RAGE JUTSU!**"

Madara then directed the Water Dragons towards Naruto, who was shocked, but pissed.

_Hope Haku's sub-training paid off,_ he thought. "**SECRET ICE STYLE: DEMONIC ICE MIRRORS!**" From the incoming dragons, Naruto had made mirrors from them, dashing towards Madara with a speed that rivaled the Fourth's own. With that, he punched him in the face…but not before earning a Waterfall Jutsu from the Sharingan eyes. _I can understand the fire jutsu, but his skill in water jutsu is similar to the Nidaime's. There's no way that he can…_

"…use water jutsu like second nature?" Madara said, shocking Naruto. "Since you're not going to live much longer, I'll let you in on a little secret. Not only am I the leader of the Red Dawn…but I am also the current Mizukage."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

----

After Akito had taken down one of the Iwa Nins, he had felt a familiar presence.

_Kiri Hunter Nins?_ He thought. _What could they be doing here?_

"Akito Ryuken," one of them said. "Wanted by the Mizukage for his blood-hunting expertise. Your sentence is to be the sex slave of many Kiri kunoichi or else we'll kill you and preserve your sperm."

_Oh, HELL no!_ "Fat chance, assholes!"

"Then you will die by our hands!"

However, they were knocked aside by Yugito and Yamato.

"I never really liked these guys," Yamato muttered. "You okay, Akito?"

"Just peachy," he replied, kicking another Iwa Nin in the nuts. "I'm assuming Madara's trying to capture me for my skills?"

"Unfortunately," Yugito said. "And since when was Madara the Mizukage?"

"Years after the Kyuubi Attack," he replied. "If anything, it's why Nami's part of the Whirlpool Peninsula in the first place."

"We'll take care of the Kiri Hunters. You take down anyone that interferes with Naruto's battle."

"Thanks, Yugito." With that, he rushed towards the Valley of the End, passing a lot of Oto Nin that were knocked out by Hinata and Neji.

_Hang on, Naruto_, he thought. _I hope Madara hasn't activated his final form yet._

----

Back with Tsunade, she and the others were having a bit of trouble against Orochimaru. Since Sakura had summoned the Slug Queen, she was unable to go into a summon battle against Orochimaru.

"Looks like without Katsuya," he replied, "you're helpless. Manda, your sacrifices are helpless. It's chow time!"

"With pleasure," Manda said.

However, Haruka had something up her sleeve.

"**SUMMONING JUTSU!**" she yelled. As Manda had tried to devour all four of him, he stopped to see that they were on top of a golden dragon, much to the shock of the other three. "You didn't think that we could match up to you? Well, Huang-Long wants to talk to you."

"You didn't tell me that you were up against the Gold Summoner!" Manda yelled.

"I had no idea!" Orochimaru yelled in return. "The Mizukage's after the keeper of that contract, remember? I thought he was on a wild goose chase!"

"For that, you owe me 100 sacrifices…as a start!"

Huang-Long frowned at Manda. "This is why you keep losing contract holders in the first place," he replied in a sage-esque tone. "Haruka, I assume you summoned me here to take this guy out?"

"If anything," she replied.

"I'll handle Manda. Just prevent Orochimaru from using THAT technique!"

Orochimaru growled. "Unlike you, I can use my arms this time." However, in the middle of making hand-signs, he had flinched. _One of my bodies is down. But which one…Kabuto? Killed by the ROOT brat, too! If I wasn't in the middle of a battle, I could get over there faster!_

Haruka stared at Orochimaru intently. _What the heck?_ "Guys, you might want to take a look at this."

Anko noticed it as well. "It looks like he's in pain. But from what?"

"It looks like there is hope for the fallen," Huang-Long said.

No one knew what he meant by that, considering he's older than Kyuubi, but Huang-Long could see what anyone else couldn't.

----

Back at the Valley, Naruto, still shocked from the revelation that Madara was the Mizukage, was getting up from the debris of water.

"From that outburst," Madara said, "you thought I wouldn't last long against them. The foolish Mizukage was too trusting to a person like me, so I killed him and took his hat for myself, and my first act was to eradicate all the other bloodlines. Namely the Senju and Kaguya bloodlines, for example."

With that revelation mentioned, Naruto was pissed. _That bastard…he made Haku's life a living hell and Kimimaro suffer from a disease that was caused by the water jutsu. _"Why the Kaguya? They had nothing to do with our feud!"

"On the contrary, brat. They had EVERYTHING to do with it. In fact, if it wasn't for my gentle persuasion, the civil war wouldn't have started with their bones in their hearts. Add the fact that one of the Seven Swordsmen was the messenger of Sanbi, and you had total chaos caused by yours truly. I'm just angry that so-called 'Demon of the Mist' took the only link to my fallen enemy with him. Oh well. He got his in the end."

"**Naruto, don't fall for it,**" Kyuubi said. "**He's only trying to let you release my power.**" _I can't help it, Kyu. He insulted a fallen ally AND Haku's mentor. If anything, for all the crimes he made, he must be stopped._

Madara was smirking within the helmet. _He's getting pissed. All according to plan._ With that opening in mind, he then went towards Naruto and punched him in the face, knocking him into the water. "**WATER STYLE: WATER PRISON JUTSU!**" The water then engulfed the young Kyuubi Vessel with Madara only staring at it. "It'll all be over soon…"

_Damn it,_ Naruto thought. _Looks like it's all over for me. Granny…Iruka…Kakashi…Akito-sensei…Sakura-chan…Hina-chan…I'm sorry._

Before he could drown in sorrow, time froze for a minute.

"You're quitting before it even started?" he heard a familiar voice say. "Who are you and what have you done with the real dobe?"

Waking up in an unknown area, he came face-to-face with a familiar person.

"Sasuke…"

To be continued…

----

Omake 9: Madara the Black Knight (Monty Python parody)

Naruto and Madara were blocking each others strikes, but Naruto had noticed a flaw in his movements. Apparently, he was thrusting too hard in order to cut him.

As Madara tried to punch him, Naruto cut off his right arm.

"It's only a scratch," Madara said.

"Are you insane or something?" Naruto asked him. "Your arm's gone!"

"No it isn't."

"What's that floating, then?"

Madara only stared at it… "I've had worse."

_Can't argue with that._ With that, the fight continued, only Naruto cut off the left arm in the process.

"Now you won't be able to use Jutsu," Naruto said. As he left, however, Madara kicked him in the back.

"Come on then. Have at you!"

Naruto had groaned at his antics. "Either you're brave or just plain senile, but you're at a disadvantage."

"You had enough?"

Naruto groaned. "Look at yourself. You've got no arms left!"

"Yes I have."

"Then what's in the water?"

"It's only a flesh wound." Sure enough, Madara kept kicking at Naruto, then he cut the leg off. "Right! I'll do you for that!"

_I'll have to admire his talent for chakra control with one leg, but this has gone on long enough._ "What are you going to do, bleed to death on me?"

"I'M INVINCIBLE!"

"A crazy old loon is what I see."

"An Uchiha always triumphs! Have at you!"

That's when Naruto cut off his remaining leg…and Madara was surprised.

"All right then," he replied. "We'll call it a draw."

Akito was watching this with mild disdain.

"I think the Eternal Mangekyou affected his brain," he said.

"You should have seen Itachi when he went to the cheese shop," Zetsu replied.

--

Omake 10: More Half-Baked Summons (minor Homestar Runner crossover).

"Face it Tsunade," Orochimaru said, gaining the upper hand. "With Katsuya summoned already, you don't stand a chance against me and Manda."

Haruka, however, had already made the hand-signs.

"**SUMMONING JUTSU!**" she yelled. In a gigantic puff of smoke, a dragon which looked like it was made by a guy in a boxing glove with wings, small feet, and two humanoid arms was staring Manda down.

"You didn't tell me that I would be up against Trogdor's contract holder!" Manda yelled.

"I had no idea," Orochimaru said, in fear.

Sure enough, everyone was surprised at the appearance of the humanoid dragon as it had single-handedly defeated Manda and Orochimaru. However, Trogdor was not done, considering that the other Oto and Iwa nins were invading.

That was the beginning of the Rock's Bloody Genocide…as the Trogdor flows through the NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!

--

Omake 11: Awakening the Blade Within (slight Bleach crossover).

_Everyone,_ Naruto thought as he was losing air in the Water Prison, _I'm sorry I broke my promise. It looks like I won't be becoming Hokage anytime soon._

However, instead of either Heaven's pearly gates or Hell's firey pits, he found himself on a rocky part of the world.

"Looks like you got yourself in deep this time," a male voice said. On what looked like a twig was a man in a flowing trenchcoat and sunglasses. "I doubt even Kyuubi can help you out this time."

"Who the heck are you?" Naruto asked him.

"My name is…" However, Naruto couldn't quite hear that last part.

"What was that?"

The old man shook his head. "Looks like you don't have enough resolve to awaken it. And for the record, don't look behind you."

However, Naruto did…and freaked out.

"How am I sitting on here without any chakra?" he asked the old man. Before he could answer, he fell down towards the ground.

"Before you lose yourself in the darkness, find me."

Sure enough, he fell into the ground in what looked like water…and found a bunch of boxes with white bands with only one that had a red band.

"That's it!"

"Hurry up, gaki!" With that, he pulled the sword out of the one with the red band…

…and back into the land of the living, Madara found a power flux from the kid.

_Impossible!_ The old Uchiha thought. _There's no way he can break the sphere._

With the giant sword in hand, he was able to break it open and stand in front of Madara, eyes glowing and smirking.

Akito was surprised at the appearance of Naruto (black robe with orange bands around his arms), but he had smirked when he remembered the founder of Uzugakure and the Shodaime Rasenkage who once wielded that sword, which made his suspicions true.

_Ichigo, you should see the look on your face when you find out your descendant's wielding Zangetsu,_ he thought.

----

(A/n: I know that the last omake's impossible, but this was the reason WHY I wanted to avoid a crossover in this story to begin with. As for Trogdor, I couldn't think of another character silly enough to pass as a summon.

With Sasuke's sudden appearance, you're thinking 'Naruto's going to die,' right? Wrong. I have no intention for the franchise's namesake to die in battle. Besides, he made a promise to become Hokage, and he intends to keep it.

As for the "Are You Serious" thing, I was watching Bobopatchjiggler while writing this two days ago, and it came to mind. Plus, Uzugakure has PLENTY of undiscovered Summon Contracts, some are forbidden unless having certain requirements down.

Sasuke will rise from the dead, but he's going to be a LOT mellower AND have skills separate from Orochimaru. You'll see why next chapter. Just don't flame me for it. The "Sasuke" that was in the series was not Sasuke, but Orochimaru in Sasuke's Body in my opinion, because it only takes a Sannin with the Sharingan to kill two Akatsuki members and the Eight-Tentacled Bull.)


	9. Red Dawn vs Konoha part 3

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 9: Fight For Life! Naruto vs Madara!

----

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked him. "Am I dead?"

"Halfway, actually," Sasuke said. From what Naruto could see, he was in the clothes during his time in Team Seven. "I just came to say that I'll be back in the land of the living, but it seems with you here, Orochimaru can wait. Right now, I can see that you want questions."

Naruto nodded. "First off, why are you dressed in that old outfit?"

"Well, when Orochimaru bit me in the Forest of Death, he kind of delayed my process of growth. With that, I can't get into Heaven because of his deeds in my body and Hell can't accept me because I'm an innocent victim, so I'm stuck in Limbo, which is where you are now."

Naruto smiled at that, but he remembered what was going on. "Sasuke, Madara's…"

"I know, and I have to say he DOES have a weakness, but only when he goes through his five phases at once. You already beat his first phase, which was the Fire Phase, but his Water Phase is a little tricky. After that, there's the Wind Phase, then the Earth Phase, and the Lightning Phase. However, when his mask is off, everything will go to hell. I'm just here to unlock the other side of the Senju Bloodline."

"I suggest you trust the gaki," Naruto heard a familiar gruff voice say. As it turns out, Zabuza was the one who said that. "He didn't get us out of heaven in order to see you fall." With him were Asuma, Jiraiya, and a face he didn't recognize…

"Who's the other guy?" Naruto asked him.

The man chuckled. "I go by Yakumo, and I knew your uncle before he killed me. If anything, I'm called here in order to help you out."

"Gaki," Jiraiya said, "from what I saw up there, your performance was a bit staggering, but you were able to pull the mask off in the end. I'm just surprised that you weren't using Kyuubi's power."

"From what I could see," Asuma said, "my Grandfather never lost hope in you. I saw that you were hiding your true power, but even with that, you had to get your control back."

However, Sasuke was annoyed. "Where the hell is he?" he asked himself. "I swear that Uncle of mine is as lazy as Kakashi."

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, are you?" an Uchiha with goggles asked him.

"This is a life-and-death situation, Uncle Obito," he replied. "Right now, the Dobe's up against the founder of all Uchiha, and even with the extra training given, he's powerless unless he could do what the Shodaime couldn't."

"Wait," Naruto said. "You're Obito Uchiha?" The Uchiha with the goggles nodded. "I halfway expected a stick in your ass like the teme's here. Then again, now I know where Kakashi got his tardiness from."

Sasuke sighed. "The quicker we do this, the faster I get my body back. If anything, the Death God gave me a second chance, and this is the only way I can make up for my past sins."

"But what about the Body Shift Jutsu?" Jiraiya asked Sasuke.

"It'll be gone by the time I'm back in there."

"Isn't that Orochimaru's Jutsu?" Naruto asked him.

"You'll find out that not everything as it seems when it comes to Kinjutsu. Now, I suggest you wake up. Kyuubi can't exactly heal you when drowning."

With that said, he then found himself back in the bubble to find that everything was unchanged.

"**What happened to you?**" Kyuubi asked him. "**When I was trying to heal your wounds, I thought our link would be severed! You and I could have died!**"

_Let's just say that I have a few tricks that some old friends gave us,_ he thought. With that, his eyes turned a different color, and a secret handsign was made.

Madara didn't exactly take notice…until he felt the shift in chakra. _He's calling upon her power,_ he thought. However, it wasn't demonic, to his disappointment. _Huh? But…it's impossible!_

"Nothing is impossible," Naruto said in a much deeper voice. "And you're about to pay for what you did to Kirigakure." With that, he burst out of the Water Prison and landed onto the water's surface. In his hand…was Kubikiri Houcho.

Madara was in shock. _How the hell did he unlock it? There's no way that he could have unlocked the power of the Six Sages!_ "I don't know how you unlocked the Rin'negan, brat, but it won't help you in this battle!"

Naruto/Zabuza smirked, and attacked Madara while rambling. As it turns out, since Zabuza was killed long ago, Madara couldn't predict his movements.

_Looks like I'll have to shift again,_ he thought. "**UCHIHA SECRET JUTSU: ELEMENTAL SHIFT!**" With that, the water died down and the wind had gone up.

_You're up, Asuma,_ Naruto thought. In the process, Naruto's eyes changed from blue to green, representing Wind Chakra and Kubikiri Houcho had changed into a pair of trench knives.

With both users in the process of shifting powers, it was hard to tell who would be the victor.

----

Back in Konoha, Orochimaru and Manda had kept up their assault against Huang-Long, much to their dismay.

_I should have figured that the Rasenkage had a summoning contract as well,_ he thought. _But with Huang-Long of all creatures? Must be some interference with the Ryuken brat. I have to start the Jutsu in order to take them out._

Unknown to Orochimaru, however, the spirit of Sasuke was racing towards the area.

_I have to stop him before he pulls the Impure Resurrection technique,_ he thought. _If I don't make it, then Konoha's as good as gone._

Orochimaru smirked. "Say goodbye to Konoha, Tsunade! **FORBIDDEN SUMMONING: IMPURE RESURRECTION JUT—**." But before he could finish the technique, a sudden jolt went into his system.

"Was he about to…" Anko said.

"He was," Tsunade said, "but I don't know what stopped him."

"Orochimaru," Manda said, "what's going on? Don't tell me you have cold feet!"

"I don't know, Manda," he said. "I thought that when he killed me…"

_You thought wrong, Orochimaru,_ someone said in his head. _I'm back, and I'm kicking you out!_

_I'd like to see you try, Sasuke!_

Within Orochimaru's mind, a battle was taking place.

"How did you even find me?" the serpentine asked him. "I thought that when you killed me, your soul was gone forever!"

Sasuke, replying with a kick to Orochimaru's forehead, said, "Let's just say that a certain deity wants you and Madara dead. Now, you and I battle. If I win, I get my body back and I'm sending you packing. If you win, I'm digested in his stomach for eternity. Either way, you still have to deal with three angry Kages and your ex-student."

Orochimaru frowned at the offer. _He knew. He knew I was going to summon his body to the mortal plane. Wouldn't matter. If he won, I'll just use it as a back-up body until another Uchiha takes his place._ "Alright, but you're a thousand years too young to defeat me!"

Sasuke was thinking differently. _Itachi, I'm sorry that I let this happen. Had I known you were responsible for saving my clan from their own arrogance, I would've gone after you for answers. Right now, I want my body back, and if possible, I want to apologize to everyone I hurt._

With that, the battle between the Snake Sannin and the Uchiha Avenger begain within the mind…and Huang-Long was the only witness to said battle.

----

Akito, however, was looking at Naruto fighting Madara.

_Even with the Rin'negan's power_, he thought, _in his current state, Naruto can't defeat him._

"**I know you want to help him,**" a male voice said, "**but you know he has to do it by himself.**"

_I just wish it wasn't this soon. Still, the souls that are helping him happen to be involved with his life, directly or otherwise._ Since he was in tune with nature, Akito noticed something was off.

"Hold it!" he yelled at the plant.

"Don't shoot," it replied. "I'm not with him!"

Akito was surprised. "How the heck did you follow me?"

"Follow you? We thought you were tracking us because of the Bingo Book." It was Zetsu the Man-Eating Plant. "What's a Whirlpool Nin doing here, anyways?"

"Stepping in for Naruto if things get hairy," he replied. "And if I'm right, when the mask is off, the shit will hit the fan."

"The mask is what's holding Madara's power back in the first place. If it's removed, the drawback of the Eternal Mangekyou will be revealed and he'll turn into a hellish monster because of it."

"What kind of hellish monster are we talking about?"

In the fight, Naruto had shifted into Jiraiya's soul and was attacking him with his moves while Madara was losing control of the battle.

"Time for you to die, Madara!" Naruto/Jiraiya yelled. "**LIGHTNING STYLE: SPIRAL UZUMAKI HARBOR JUTSU!**" Sure enough, real lightning came out of his hands while Yakumo took over, and the drill had penetrated the mask, much to the spectating Zetsu's horror.

"Oh shit."

Naruto had changed back to normal, but knew it wasn't over.

"You fool," Madara said. "You broke my mask. Of all the things you broke, it was the mask. Do you realize what you've unleashed?"

The killing intent that leaked out was enough to spread all over the Elemental Countries like lightning."

"What the hell is that?" Sasuke asked himself.

"That intent," Orochimaru said. "Madara-sama's true form is revealed."

_Naruto, you idiot! I told you not to break the mask!_ He then growled. _I'll have to finish him off now._ With that, he then took Orochimaru's sword and stabbed him in the heart.

"Even if you kill me," Orochimaru said, "you won't be able to stop Madara. When he's in his true form, he is invincible."

"I won't be the one to stop him, Orochi-teme," he replied. "But I will be there to help. **CHIDORI CURRENT!**" The electricity from Sasuke's chakra had chirped into a Thousand Birds, electrocuting the soul of the Snake Sannin. "He's all yours, Shinigami!"

----

Outside the battlefield, Huang-Long felt the intent. "He's here," Huang-Long said. The intent of Madara alone sent Manda back to the Summon World, and he was NOT sticking around for what happened next.

"That intent," Gaara said. "It's worse than Shukaku's."

"Forget that," Anko said. "Look at Orochimaru!"

The Shinigami had answered the call and looked at Orochimaru's twitching body. "Looks like Sasuke did his part of the bargin," he said. "If anything, due to the number of bodies on him, he will be a dilectable treat."

"Wait a minute," Tsunade said. "Sasuke made Orochimaru hesitate? I thought he was gone forever!"

"Well, neither Heaven nor Hell would accept him, so I had to get all four of the Hokages to teach him in order to stop the slithery bastard from ruining life. Now, he's here because he fulfilled his part of the deal with me." With that, Orochimaru's soul was devoured by the Shinigami, much to the onlookers' disgust. "Until then, see you in a few years."

As the reaper disappeared, the body got up and looked at the carnage. "Madara's been busy," he said. "It's a good thing I got here when I could."

No one could believe it, but Huang-Long chuckled. "I take it you're here to help your friend out?" he asked the revived Uchiha.

Sasuke nodded. "I assume you'll drop the charges on me, Tsunade."

Tsunade, still a bit frightened at the intent from the Valley of the End, couldn't exactly find the right words to say.

As for Haruka, she then said, "I'll drop MY charges if you'll help out my nephew! You're wanted in Uzugakure for assassination!"

"I know, and I'm not exactly proud of it. If anything, I've learned a few new tricks since my time in Limbo." With that, he jumped down from the building. "**SUMMONING JUTSU!**" Instead of a snake, it was a Phoenix, much to Haruka's surprise.

"Nice to meet the man who rose from the dead," it said in a female voice. "I didn't think you had enough Chakra to summon me."

"We'll talk about the summoning conditions later, Suzaku," he replied. "Right now, my friend is in danger, and the Rin'negan alone can't stop the beast from attacking. I need to get to the Valley of the End right now!"

"Alright, but you and I have to talk later." With that, they were both able to fly out of sight.

"He summoned Suzaku," Haruka said, stunned. _Looks like he could be one of the few Uchiha Akito could like. I just hope he gets there in time._

----

Back in the Valley, Naruto could only stare at the transformation process in fear. Madara, as it turns out, had lost his humanity when the Nidaime killed him, and the mask was the only thing keeping him together. Now, he's about to see his true form.

_Of all the bad guys I've faced,_ he thought, _he has to be the scariest one I could ever see._

"**You're looking at the God of Evil here, kit**," Kyuubi said. "**This is the guy that Hidan worships.**"

"Jashin," he said.

"That's right, Naruto Uzumaki," the man once known as Madara said. "I am Jashin."

Sure enough, it was like Hidan's demonic form, only with actual bones and six arms instead of two. One eye held the Sharingan while the other had a Byakugan eye while what remained of the Caged Bird seal was on his skull. In each of his six hands was either a weapon or a mouth. Basically, he was a skeletal version of every Akatsuki member combined.

Akito and Zetsu were frightened, to say the least.

"That is one ugly motherfucker," Akito said.

"Ugly don't suit it alone," Zetsu said. "This is what happens when a new Akatsuki member joins. However, he seems to have more weapons at his disposal than the last time we saw him. Now he's a walking powerhouse with a bad attitude and a thirst for revenge."

"This is the result of the Eternal Mangekyou?" another voice said. "Good thing Shinigami gave me a different version."

To their surprise and Akito's anger, Sasuke had arrived.

"What are you doing here, Uchiha?" he asked him.

"Saving my friend's ass," he replied. "If anything, he can't do this thing alone."

"After you tried to kill him three years ago? How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"I wouldn't wish dying by a false god on Orochimaru! He may be a pain in the neck, but he's still my friend!"

"Give me one good reason why I should let you get down there, then!"

Sasuke frowned. The Shinigami had told him that the Ryuken clan had only one way to prove that he's changed for the better, and he had stolen the necessary chakra after killing Orochimaru's soul and taking the snake chakra for himself, so he had enough chakra to summon the Phoenix Lady again. "You want one? Here's proof." With that, he was able to summon, much to the surprise of Akito, the Phoenix Lady Suzaku.

_How can he…There's no way that he can summon her without drawbacks!_

"**He's telling the truth, cub,**" Byakko said. "**Suzaku's requirements to summon involve facing an inner demon and winning, and I sense no taint from Orochimaru OR Madara.**"

Akito sighed. "You are aware that you still have to face trial," he replied.

"After watching what I did like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from, trial sounds like heaven." With that, Sasuke took an unseen route down to the battlefield.

Naruto, however, was suffering a beating.

"You see, Uzumaki?" Jashin said. "This is the result of true power. With the help of the specialized rings I gave my minions, I was able to absorb their powers and take them as my own. You cannot defeat me."

"You're wrong, Madara," Naruto said, getting up. "What you have isn't true power. It's a result of treachery, corruption, and age."

"You know nothing. Even with Kyuubi, you're nothing but a fool who scratched the surface of his potential. I, on the other hand, am a God."

"Funny," Sasuke said, behind Jashin. "The only God I've seen with more killing intent is Kami himself. What I see is a spoiled brat who wants to have the world in an iron fist." Adding to that part, he slammed the behemoth in the back of the face and landed alongside Naruto. "Even with your new strength, you're still nothing without me, dobe."

"Teme," Naruto said, smirking. Getting up, he said, "How do we defeat this guy?"

"From what the Death God told me," he replied, "Jashin's weak point happens to be his power source. However, he's gotten stronger since the last time due to the recent joining."

Naruto groaned. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Yeah. MOVE!" With that, they jumped to avoid a clay bomb thrown by one of the mouths.

"You little pests," Jashin said. "I'll make sure that you stay down! **DARK BOMB!**"

"I won't let you hurt my friend!" Sasuke yelled. "**BATTER UP!**" Swinging Kusanagi, he had hit the bomb right back at him. "Now, Naruto!"

Naruto smirked. "**OMOTE RENGE!**" Using his feet, he kicked the bomb at high speed towards the chest, which made it expode on contact.

Groaning, Jashin felt some of his power drop. _These brats don't know when to quit. I'll just have to make sure that they don't have the field advantage._ "You think you can beat me with my own weapons? That was only part of what I could really do!"

_What is he doing?_ Naruto thought. _He has all the powers of the Akatsuki and most of the Sound Four. What more can he do?_

_Something's not right,_ Sasuke thought. _If Madara wanted to finish us off, he could have done it right now._ He then activated his Sharingan…and gasped in shock at the speed of the hand-signs. "Get out of the radius!"

Akito had noticed that Sasuke had yelled at him, but it was too late.

"**SHIN MANGEKYOU: DAWN OF THE END!**" With that attack, there was a flash of light…and the three that were battling had disappeared.

_This is not good,_ Akito thought. _With a man that powerful and both Naruto and Sasuke gone, my ass is grass._

"Akito!" he heard a familiar voice say. Apparently, he had the worst luck. "Where are Naruto and Sasuke?"

"Gone," he replied. "Madara…or whatever he's calling himself now, disappeared along with both Naruto and the Uchiha."

"Where?" Gaara asked him.

"I don't know. The last Jutsu I heard was something called Dawn of the End. I just can't tell you anything more about it!"

"I can," Huang-Long said, to their surprise. "It's basically the battlefield that decides the fate of the world. If Jashin wins, we're all dead. However, if Naruto and Sasuke win, time will resume its course. However, not even I know what it looks like."

"Which means unless the victor is decided," Tsunade said, "Naruto and Sasuke have disappeared of the face of the Earth."

Now all they could do is wait…and pray.

To be continued…

----

Omake 12: Sasuke's New Tricks (3 different Omakes).

Sasuke only growled at Madara/Jashin as he and Naruto avoided a Shadow Puppet, a Dark Bomb, and Black Fire from his mouth and arms.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, "we're not going to defeat him just by ourselves."

"What plan do you have in mind, Teme?" Naruto asked him, avoiding a Black Paper Crane.

"A friend of Shinigami's gave me a couple trinkets in order to stop him." With that, he gave one earring to Naruto. "Just put one on your left ear."

Naruto smirked, but frowned as he put the earring on. "What's the setback?"

"We're stuck like that forever."

Eyes bulging out in a comical anime style, Naruto yelled, "Are you shitting me?!? If I wasn't aware of a setback like that, I wouldn't have asked!"

The pull from both earrings had dragged them towards each other, merging into another being, much to Jashin's, Akito's, and Zetsu's surprise.

_How is this even possible?_ Madara thought. _Earrings like that are supposed to be destroyed after what made this world as it is right now!_

_Oh Lord,_ Akito thought. _Second chance or not, I will kill the Uchiha if they ever separate._

"**Agreed,**" Byakko said.

After the light died down, what had Sasuke's clothes, Naruto's whisker marks, Sharingan/Rin'negan eyes, and both blond and jet black hair stood before Jashin.

"I am Sasuto," the new being said in a synchronized voice. "The being that will mark your destruction."

--

Omake 13: It's time to Duel! Ninja Style!

When improvising in a one-sided battle against a demonic being that proclaims itself as a God, there are no alternatives in order to kill it.

However, Naruto and Sasuke knew that ninja skills weren't enough in order to defeat Madara's current form.

_This is bad,_ Naruto thought. _Even though he has the stench of a demon, no offense Kyu, he's as powerful as a God. And his power source HAS to be the Other Eight Biju._

"**Why do you think I told you NOT to use my chakra against him?**" Kyuubi asked in response. "**However, power isn't everything. You notice that he's been unrelenting to kill you both?**"

_Yeah. You think his mental capacity would be trying to think of a way to kill us both in one blow…wait a minute. I think he's afraid of stopping to think because he did the same thing when the Nidaime killed him. Is there any chance that I can use IT?_

Sasuke was thinking around the lines of the same thing. _I haven't done it after I left Konoha in a while,_ he thought. _I just hope the Dobe's still as good as last time and I'm not as rusty._

They noticed each others looks and nodded. With that, they were able to use handsigns and pump their chakra into their system.

Madara took notice. _What kind of Jutsu is that?_ "Whatever you brats have planned won't stop me! I'll be able to copy it and activate it three times as fast as you can." With that, Madara was able to do so.

_Gotcha!_

"**SUMMONING JUTSU: ANCIENT GAME OF SHADOWS!**" all three of them yelled. That's when a giant smoke cloud appeared on all three of their arms and formed into…strange devices?

Each of their devices had five parts on a flat-like space with a sixth slot opening on the left side and the holder held two slots, one with a bunch of cards and another with not so many. However, each design was different:

Naruto's was scarlet with Kyuubi's power and had the Uzumaki symbol on one part of the flat platform;

Sasuke's was purple, representing his former alliance with Orochimaru, and had the Uchiha Symbol on the flat platform;

And Jashin's had the symbol for Akatsuki and was black.

However, Jashin was surprised. "What kind of Jutsu is this?"

"You'll find out soon enough, Jashin-teme," Naruto said. "But the question is, can you beat us at our own game?"

Sasuke smirked. "Whatever the case may be, I doubt you'll stand a chance against our monsters."

Jashin growled. _They tricked me! I was thinking it would be a powerful jutsu, but it was a card game the whole time?_ "Forget this. **RELEASE!**" However, he was unable to release the jutsu. "I said release, damn it!"

"Oh," Sasuke said, "we almost forgot. You can't dispel it once it's summoned. You'll have to beat us in order to get rid of it."

Jashin sighed. "Well, good thing is, I know the card game from Team Hawk's memories, so I'll be able to tear you both apart!"

"Then get your game on, Madara!" Naruto yelled.

"Because it's time to duel!" Sasuke said.

**Naruto: 4000**

**Sasuke: 4000**

**Jashin: 8000**

--

Omake 14: How they found that Jutsu in Omake 13 (dates back in first Naruto series, in the very first episode).

While looking through the Forbidden Scroll (and mastering the Shadow Clones), Naruto then found something that interested him.

"What's this?" Naruto asked himself.

_Kinjutsu 49: Summoning Jutsu: Art of the Shadow Games._

_Rank: Triple- S-Rank Ninjutsu._

_Explanation: Around the dawn of creation, this jutsu was known originally as the Shadow Games. However, through technology years ago, it has turned into a children's card game, but the danger still lurked around the corner through a demonic force known as the Shadow Realm._

_Alright! I could SO beat the pants off of Sasuke-teme if I learn a summoning contract!_ Naruto thought. He then realized something. _But why would a jutsu with a risk like that is considered a children's card game?_

The answer was under the original description.

_A lighter version of this Jutsu, the Art of Duel Monsters, is basically a lesser-powerful version with the summoned monster regarded as a Genjutsu, although the light is still blinding to the opponent's eyes._

Naruto facefaulted. A powerful Summoning Ninjutsu that had its own Genjutsu counterpart was basically unheard of in the Ninja world, but Naruto had cringed at learning the lesser version of it.

_Kami must hate me. I know it._ He then sighed. _Looks like I'll have to learn both parts. All I know that it's going to be HELL learning the Genjutsu portion of it._

This was around three minutes before Iruka found Naruto. Because of the low chakra required to maintain the original thing AND even lower to hold the Genjutsu (with or without Chakra Control), it took Naruto two minutes to quickly learn it.

From that day forward, the Shadow Realm had awakened once more and destiny has chosen Naruto Uzumaki to defend the world from the return of the Shadow Games, just as the Pharaoh, the King of Games, the Supreme King, and the Starburst Rider did thousands of years ago…

----

(A/n: Yes, Sasuke has the Phoenix Contract in place of the Snake Contract, and is helping Naruto out. In my opinion, Manda doesn't seem like a summon you can easily be friends with and is irritable enough to actually kill Orochimaru, as hinted in the battle between Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru near the end of the Tsunade Retrieval Arc. Plus, in Uzugakure, the Phoenix Contract can only be summoned to those who wish to repent for their sins and/or are reborn in a contract with the Shinigami himself, Sasuke filling in those two categories. Haruka, as you can see, has the Golden Dragon contract while Akito has the White Tiger contract. Naruto, however, has the Frog Contract, the Fox Contract, and the Blue Dragon (Seiryuu) Contract in his disposal.

The Fusion thing is basically from Dragonball Z, obviously, when Goku and Vegeta fused into Vegito against Super Buu. Don't worry. Because of their conflicting personalities, they'll actually separate after about thirty minutes into the fusion, although that doesn't spare Sasuke from Akito's wrath.

As for Omakes 13 and 14, they're a result of a fanfic idea and reading Uzumaki Duelists and trocoolguy's fanfics with Sonic and Co with their own decks, but kept in the same Naruto style with the original storyline. When Naruto learned that jutsu, however, he unknowingly released the Shadow Realm from its longtime seperation and now has the monsters we sometimes know and love.

Here are the decks I have in mind for each ninja:

Naruto's deck: Elemental Heroes, Magicians, and Dragons, with Kyuubi and Yubel as a last resort.

Sasuke's deck: Fire Monsters, Lightning Monsters, and Cyberdark Dragon when tainted with the Cursed Seal.

Sakura's deck: Harpy Lady Deck with a few others (because she somewhat sounds like one).

Konohamaru's deck: Monkey Beast-Warrior type with Wild Nature's Release.

Iruka's deck: Standard Ninja Deck with the Sasuke Samurai cards at hand.

Kakashi's deck: Lightning-based monsters with dice cards at hand.

Ino's deck: Monsters with magic cards like Brain Control at her disposal.

Shikamaru's deck: Something that matches his intellect, like Water Dragon and the Crush Card Virus. Possibly Synchro cards as well.

Chouji's deck: Strong monster cards with Rush Recklessly and Castle Walls.

Hinata's deck: Mostly fairy-based cards with a Winged Kuriboh that Naruto lost.

Kiba's deck: Beast monsters with Silver Fang and a secret weapon at his disposal.

Shino's deck: This one's a no-brainer. Insect cards, although he doesn't cheat like Weevil.

Tenten's deck: Amazoness cards with a TON of equip cards at her disposal.

Lee's deck: Mostly warrior cards, but with Catapult Turtle and the Dark Door in them.

Neji's deck: Again, no-brainer. Destiny Heroes with Level-Up cards and Pyro Clock of Destiny.

Gaara's deck: Evil Heroes and Ichibi no Shukaku.

Temari's deck: Different Dimension monsters.

Kankuro's deck: Gravekeeper monsters.

Asuma's deck: Wind-based monsters, but he handed his second copy of Stardust Dragon to Naruto after Hiruzen Sarutobi died. When HE dies, Shikamaru assembles his deck into his own.

Kurenai's deck: Labyrinth Monsters, if anyone knows about the Duelist Kingdom episode with the Paradox Brothers in it.

Gai's deck: Fire monsters to show his Flames of Youth. Don't ask.

Yamato's deck: Wood monsters. Yeah…

Ibiki's deck: Anything that's linked to a game of chance or a torture game.

Anko's deck: The lighter part of an Occult deck.

Hiruzen's deck: Spirit Monster cards with a bunch of other cards required to summon them.

Orochimaru's deck: The darker part of an Occult deck, which includes Dark Necrofear, Spirit of the Silent, and Destiny Board to quicky end the duel. Basically a carbon copy of Bakura's deck.

Jiraiya's deck: The Crystal Beasts deck. After dying in Part II, he gives them to Naruto in order to turn Neos into Rainbow Neos.

Tsunade's deck: I was thinking along the lines of a Cyber Skater deck with cards that can make the monster directly attack the opponents' life points.

Itachi's deck: Fire-based monsters with a ritual monster at hand.

Kisame's deck: Water-based monsters with ritual monsters like Crab Turtle at hand.

Sasori's deck: The Scorpion Gang with Game Controller to control his opponents into puppets.

Deidara's deck: I'm assuming Fiend-types with Kuriboh and Blast With Chain, because he loves blowing things up.

Hidan's deck: Only deck that comes to mind is Trueman/Mr. T's Dark Deck with Exodia Necross.

Kakuzu's deck: Zombie deck.

Konan's deck: Fiend monsters with Relinquished and Thousand Eyes Restrict.

Pein's deck: Guardian monsters with Five-Headed Dragon.

Tobi's deck: Toon monsters, until we go deeper into the story…

Madara's deck: …then he switches to Clear Monsters and the Sacred Beasts cards from YuGiOh GX.

Sai's deck: Danzo's old Archfiend Deck with Pandemonium and Cyber End Dragon.

Kabuto's deck: Goblin monsters with healing cards and Injection Fairy Lily.

I know it wouldn't work considering that it's a world of killing, but there are a few things I set up with their choices:

All the Jinchurikki have a Biju card in their deck as a sign of their identity, the only one who has the monsters that all three protagonists have in their decks is Naruto, and when Naruto unleashes the jutsu, in the next day, everyone has a deck in their disposal of monsters that reflect their personality. However, only Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke, Kabuto, Orochimaru, and Madara can access Shadow Realm magic and can see Duel Spirits.

If anyone has any ideas what decks that a few characters I don't have on the list should have, I'm all ears. Otherwise, just wait until I come up with more ideas.

Overall, I think it's a good concept, although it needs a few subplots to make the duel part work.)


	10. Finding Jashin part 1

Naruto Shipuuden: Rise of the Maelstrom.

Chapter 10: Dawn of the End! Gathering of the Whirlpool Nine! Naruto and Sasuke are in WHO!?!

----

They were all dumbstruck. Tsunade, Gaara, Haruka, Akito, and the long forgotten Zetsu were staring at the Valley of the End in disbelief.

"We need to find them," Gaara said.

"That's the problem," Zetsu said, making everyone turn to him in disbelief. "Madara's Eternal Mangekyou Jutsu is not like the Tsukiyomi. Once the Dawn of the End technique is in place, not even we know where the battlefield will be."

"Either way," Tsunade said, "it's a bit of a shocker to see Sasuke reformed and the Snake Contract gone from his being." She then realized something. "Wait, aren't you Zetsu from Akatsuki?"

"Give him a break!" Akito said. "He quit because Madara was about to betray him! And Orochimaru had taken over Sasuke's body at the time, so they were planning to make Konoha an All-Uchiha village!"

"For the record," Zetsu said, "it's 'they.' If you're going to defend us after we defected, do it right. Secondly, other than Pein, Konan, and Karin, we're your only chance to find the other Eight Biju and make sure that Madara's power as Jashin is no more."

Zetsu had a point, because as a plant, he had roots all over the conjoined Ninja Villages to make up for the lack of limbs, and that's what made him an asset to Akatsuki in the first place.

"As much as I hate to say it," Gaara said, glaring at the plant because of the pain his former organization caused, "he's right. From what Shukaku's memories told me, the Statue of Evil powers Madara and gives him his Jashin form. With Audrey-teme tracking the roots, we can find the Statue and destroy it."

"It's not that easy," Haruka said, getting everyone's attention. "Even if we destroy the Statue of Evil, there's no way of telling if Naruto and the Uchiha will survive OR where they'll end up. For all we know, they're either at Iwagakure, Kumogakure, or Mizugakure. Hell, they could be anywhere!"

"And what do you suggest?" Tsunade asked her Whirlpool counterpart.

"Do you have any shinobi that are adept at cloud-watching?"

Tsunade was confused at that statement. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I thought I heard something unbelievable in my ear."

"You heard me."

Tsunade knew what she said, but she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "There is the Nara clan, but other than Shikamaru, I don't think…"

"…and I don't care. Right now, my nephew and his friend/rival are who-knows-where, and we need every Shinobi and Kunoichi from Suna, Konoha, and Uzu in order to find them!"

"Why are you concerned for the Uchiha?" Zetsu asked them. "I thought you marked him as a missing nin for nearly killing the Fox Vessel!"

Akito groaned. "It's because of my old clan's Redemption Summon that changed our minds," he replied to the plant. "And Sasuke was marked as dead to them, not a Missing Nin."

Haruka, however, had sent a Seagull out with a message. "I had to send some help to a group Kushina and I were once a part of," she said before anyone could ask. "I'm sure you've heard of them."

"Refresh my memory," Tsunade said.

"You've heard of the Nine Starlights of the Whirlpool?"

"I have," Zetsu said. "They're basically a group of Kunoichi that excel in arts other than Shinobi. Why?"

"You're looking at the former Uranus of the Nine Starlights, Plant Boy."

Everyone (except for Akito) was surprised.

'After all this is done,' Tsunade thought, 'I'm going to get myself plastered. Naruto's Aunt was the strongest of the Nine Starlights, and had I not went Turnabout on the Council, we wouldn't be standing here.'

'I can see where Naruto got his determination from,' Gaara thought, surprisingly. 'Wait…Nine Starlights? Oh no, Temari's going to go fangirl and Kankuro's going to die, and not by my hands.'

Akito then sighed. 'I'm going to have to face the music sometime,' he thought.

----

"Naruto," Sasuke said. "Wake up! Dobe, wake up!"

Naruto got up and was face-to-face with Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" he asked him. "Are we dead?"

"We will be if you don't get your butt moving!" In surprise, Naruto had gotten up and checked the surroundings.

"Where are we?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out myself." Yeah, this was not a normal cave they were in. You can tell that because the ground doesn't feel like rock. "Feels like stepping in some kind of rubber, and it smells like someone died in here."

Naruto noticed that as well, and held his nose. "I'm going to apologize to Kiba if we survive this, Teme."

"Why?"

"Chuunin Exams three years ago, I was up against Kiba and as a last-ditch effort, I had farted in his face by accident."

Sasuke had flinched. "Well, since an Inuzuka's senses are hightened to a point where it's almost feral, I could say that was blind luck. Or did you eat something foul during the Second Exam?"

"That was the last time I ate rabbit."

"Sorry I asked." He then realized something. "Wait, I just had a disturbing thought…" The thought had confirmed the feel and the smell, and he had cringed. "GYAH! THIS IS WORSE THAN THE TIME WE KISSED!"

"DON'T REMIND ME!" Naruto yelled.

"No, I mean we happen to be in Madara's body, Dobe!" To Naruto's confusion, Sasuke explained why he found this out. "You know when people die, their bowels collapse?" Naruto nodded. "And you remember the Movie Night we had when Shino had brought in those Sci-Fi films, and one of them had a scene where the Princess, the Smuggler, the Beast, and the Gay Droid were inside a worm?"

Naruto gave him a wry look. "I thought you were training that day."

"I was the host, remember?" Naruto flinched. "With those thoughts in mind, I came to this conclusion: We're inside Madara's body, and this is his colon."

Yeah, for that moment, Naruto had agreed with Sasuke: It WAS worse than the time they accidentally kissed, and the look on his face proved it. "MADARA'S A VORE FETISHIST WITH A PEDOPHILIA STREAK!"

"I AM NOT!" Madara yelled, shocking them both. "Before I was given a rude comment, I'm going to start my speech: Welcome to the Dawn of the End, or as you already figured out, MY end. Get it?"

"We get the pun," Naruto said, glaring. "Now, what are you going to do to us?"

"You know how a dead corpse rots? For an indefinite amount of time, you two will be eaten by what's devouring my corpse and will become the dead in the process. That is…unless you can find me. It's a long way up, though. Can you handle it?" Madara had laughed like a madman. "I'd say good luck, but I'm not the Shodiame Hokage!"

The rumbling sound got their attention, and to Sasuke and Naruto's surprise, an earthworm had appeared.

"Oh, holy crap," Naruto said. "Reminds me of one of Orochimaru's snake summons."

"Only this one can regenerate if we split it in half," Sasuke said. "Which leaves us with only one option?"

"Once again, Sasuke," Naruto said, "I'm thinking the same thing you are."

"RUN!"

With that said and done, both Naruto and Sasuke were running away from the giant worm and his recently called buddies.

"Now I know how Itachi feels when he was in the Mountain Toad's stomach," Naruto said.

"Obviously, Itachi survived that," Sasuke said. "What did he do to escape?"

"He used the Amaterasu and Jiraiya sealed it up before I could touch it. After that, the Jutsu disappeared. Why?"

Sasuke then activated his Sharingan, only it wasn't the Eternal Mangekyou, but of a different design. "**REBIRTH MANGEKYOU: FLAMING PHOENIX EYE!**" Without warning, blue fire had appeared from his eyes and burned a hole through the blockade. "Get in the hole!"

"Are you crazy?" Naruto asked him. "Who knows what Madara had during his lifetime!"

"That's nothing compared to what those worms are going to do to us, and we can kill a bunch of crabs! Now get in there!"

They then went through the burning hole without any difficulty, and the worms were burning. An explosion happened afterward, slightly singing both nin.

"Not exactly the best idea you came up with," Naruto said.

"It's better than facing Orochimaru head-on," Sasuke replied. He then realized something. "Uh, I was expecting this place to be more…fleshy."

Naruto took a look at this, and was surprised. "What the hell? How did we get from the colon to the hot spring?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Madara gave a booming laugh. "Like it?" he asked them both. "It's basically a redecorated bladder that's a side-effect of the Shin Mangekyou, making my body a trick house."

"So…" Naruto said, "that's not spring water?"

"It's urine," Sasuke said. "I don't know how, but I know."

"Try to get out when the Pubic Lice attack you," Madara said. "If you make it to the brain before the other hazards attack you, you'll be rewarded with a fight from me. That is, if you can make it to the brain in one piece." The trick house had laughed.

Naruto then heard the skittering of something…and looked up to see a giant version of the Crab in his face.

"Uh, Sasuke?" Naruto asked him.

"Can't exactly do that again unless we want to die in a farting explosion," Sasuke said, back to back with his friend. "And the fact that I had wasted chakra blowing a hole in the wall."

"I've got a confession to make. During those times that I had been the Dead-Last, I had been faking it in order to gain some kind of attention to the villagers. Heck, it was a form of Tree Climbing I used that helped me paint the Hokage Monument, but it was shot to hell when I was poisoned."

"I've got a confession as well," Sasuke said. "After the Uchiha Massacre, I wanted to kill Itachi for killing my mother, but as it turns out, Madara had killed her in Itachi's guise. I've been chasing the wrong guy for years, and I paid the price in spades."

"It was nice knowing you, Teme."

"Same here…Naruto."

When the pubic lice got closer to them…

"Don't stop moving or Madara's summons will swallow you whole!" they heard a familiar voice say.

"Who the…" Naruto started to say…

"It can't be," Sasuke said.

Sure enough, it was Itachi in his former ANBU uniform (sans the Weasel mask) slashing two of the Pubic Lice.

"Get going," he said.

"Why?" Sasuke asked him.

"Don't ask, just do it!"

As they were about to run, Sasuke had looked at Itachi in regret…and went back towards the battlefield.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

"Cover me, Naruto!" the Uchiha survivor yelled. "Itachi can't handle them all, even if he IS a figment."

"It's not that. You're armed, right?"

Sasuke took out Kusanagi. "Are you?"

Naruto smirked and took out his Mother's Blade. "You want Kunai with that?"

Sasuke smiled and raced to help the pre-massacre Itachi out with Naruto following.

----

Through the Forest, Shikamaru was a bit livid. While Naruto and Sasuke were fighting Madara/Jashin, Shikamaru had taken out the Iwagakure force's head honcho by using one of his Late Sensei's old tricks. However, he didn't get the chance to stay with the reconstruction effort, and is REALLY restraining the urge to dropkick the talking head to Amegakure.

Yes, that's right. Shikamaru had Hidan's head to guide the way, and he was forced into it by not only the Hokage, but the Kazekage, Rasenkage, Sakura, Hinata, Temari, Kankuro, Kakashi, Nagato, Konan, Zetsu, Akito, and basically everyone Naruto and Sasuke had befriended to find Jashin with Hidan's help.

"Would you SHUT UP ABOUT JASHIN AND HELP ME FIND HIM!?!" he yelled. "You're making this more troublesome than what it is actually worth!"

Add to the fact that Hidan was Asuma's killer and you get enough reason for Shikamaru to defect from Konoha.

"I will if you grant me the condition of helping the prisoners find Jashin from within," Hidan replied. "I actually like being in the Torture Chamber as a device, but I miss my body."

"Believe me, you should have quit while you were ahead." Shikamaru realized how troublesome that pun actually was. "If you help me out, I'll hand you over to Ibiki, Anko, and Ino if you don't betray us. If you do, you're going to find yourself as an offering to Jashin himself, because Madara took his form and enhanced it."

"Wait a second," Hidan said. "You never told me about THAT! This is BLASPHEMY!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "All the more reason we have a common enemy."

"Quit bickering, you two," a woman said. "We need to find Madara's corpse, not a dead body with a brain that can't die!"

Shikamaru and Hidan flinched. Had Hidan still have his body, he would've been shitting his pants.

To monitor their progress, they had sent the current Saturn Starlight of the Nine, Hotaru Tsubaki. She was basically a raven-haired beauty with a purple Jounin Outfit with the Roman symbol for Saturn on the back and the Uzu Headband. Her choice of weapon is a double-ended scythe that can split in two and had the chakra level of the Two-Tailed Cat. In the Bingo Books, she was listed as the Spiral Reaper, an A-Class nin that had the power of a Biju, but lacked control.

And yes, she had a bit of a tomboyish attitude with looks that could kill (literally if you're not careful), and Jiraiya, had he still been alive, would've had his head on a pike.

"Right," Shikamaru said. He then turned to Hidan and said, "From what the Rasenkage told us, Madara's hinted to be within the clouds in his Jashin form in a Genjutsu OF a cloud. That's why we're both here. And I do NOT want to be blood in the middle of a field."

"Right," Hidan said. He may have been immortal, but he did not want his brain to stop thinking logically. "He's basically in a very cloudy area that's NOT Kumogakure and where Zetsu's roots don't grow. Something like the steam of what looks like an inactive volcano."

"How does that help us?" Hotaru asked the disembodied head.

"I don't know! It's the only thing I paid attention to when the Kyuubi Brat had returned!"

Shikamaru, however, knew what Hidan was talking about. "You mean Mt. Shunpo?" he asked him.

"Mt. what?" Hotaru asked him.

Shikamaru groaned. "Mt. Shunpo. It's basically where the Fourth Hokage and Iwa's Tsuchikage at that time had their final battle during the Rock-Leaf War. It's at the border of Fire and Earth country, which means we're heading in the wrong direction."

"What do you mean?" Hidan asked him.

"This is the border of Fire and Wind Country. We're off unless we go northeast."

"Better start moving," Hotaru said, "because we've got company!"

What came at them was something no Ninja could comprehend in existence.

"Zombies," Shikamaru said, growling. "It HAD to be zombies!"

Hidan then recognized the symbol all over their bodies, and gasped in fear. "My brethren," he said. Both the Uzu and Konoha nin looked at the head in confusion. "They're worse than zombies. They're the Disciples of Jashin. I thought they failed the ritual before I had taken it."

"Apparently, traitor, YOU have failed the ritual," a female voice said.

Hotaru's surprise was genuine. "I know that voice," she said. She then growled at who appeared.

"You've grown, Hotaru," the woman said. "Too bad you and I had to reunite. It's such a shame, too. I wouldn't have wished for this moment to happen, Firefly."

"I've been training my whole life for this moment," Hotaru said, readying her scythe. "Now we face each other in combat…Mother."

"That's your mother?!?" Shikamaru yelled. 'Apparently, some Mothers are more troublesome than mine, but this takes the cake!'

"No way!" Hidan yelled. "Lady Akiha's your MOTHER!?!"

"Akiha Tsubaki," Hotaru said. "Former Spiral Reaper and Ex-Saturn of the Nine Starlights. Double-S-Rank Missing Nin because of her fascination with Necromancy, which led the Rasenkage at the time to exile her. High Priestess in the Church of Jashin and goes by the name of Kaori Yume." She then turned to Shikamaru and Hidan. "You go to the Hokage and take the Brain that Wouldn't Die with you. This is a vendetta that I need to settle."

"You don't understand," Hidan yelled. "I've trained under Kaori myself, and her power over the dead dwarfs my own! In fact, she even uses those I kill as her own puppets!"

"And you've obviously forgotten that the Nine Starlights are at the level of the Three Sannin, so I outrank you both! Now move!"

Shikamaru nodded and took Hidan with him, but he didn't go to the Hokage.

"You said that those you killed are part of her zombie army, right?" Shikamaru asked the headless Jashin disciple.

"Yes, and I fear that she may be killed by her own mother. And even with your Shadow Grab Jutsu, you'll be helpless when your Sensei is in the picture."

Shikamaru didn't respond to that because he knew that Asuma's body has been violated. He then took the walkie-talkie and placed Hidan on a makeshift pike.

"What the fuck, man? Do you have any idea how much that stings?"

"Keep an eye out for any zombies that come our way," Shikamaru said. "I'm calling for backup and possibly a priestess Naruto knows." He then switched the channels. "This is Smoke Shadow calling home base! Come in, Drunken Slug!"

"This is Copy Inu," Kakashi said. "Drunken Slug's out. What's the problem?"

"We're dealing with the Knights of Jashin here! I need backup in the form of a few Shinobi and, if possible, a few Miko."

"I can't help with the Shinobi, but I DO know Shion's in the area. I'll have to talk with Whirlpool Geo. In the meantime, how's Spiral Reaper?"

"Facing off against Kaori Yume, which is why I need the Miko ASAP! I don't know how much longer I can handle myself, and Whirlpool Geo's going to kill me if Spiral Reaper ends up dead!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! Make sure to take out any zombies that followed you until the Miko arrives."

"It gets worse, Copy Inu. One of the zombies is possibly Asuma-Sensei. I found out the location of Jashin himself, but we're dying out here!"

"Don't say dying!" Hidan yelled.

"Sorry. We're getting Mortally Wounded out here!"

"I'll see what I can do. Copy Inu out." With that, the codec was out.

"We've got company!" Hidan yelled.

'Forget troublesome,' Shikamaru thought. Before he could finish it, a wind blade had nearly nicked his hair and made the pole Hidan's head was on fall off the log. 'One of the zombies IS Asuma-Sensei. Only he could use Wind Chakra that effectively.'

"Enough is enough!" Shikamaru yelled. "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not taking this troublesome shit anymore!" He then got the trench knives and started dueling against the former member of the Twelve Guards of the Fire Lord. "**SHADOW KNIFE JUTSU!**" Taking out the arms of the Asuma zombie, he then took out the others. 'I just hope the others are having better luck than I am.'

Hidan growled. 'If only my body wasn't six feet under!' he thought.

To be continued…

----

Omake File 15: Nine Starlights? (Sailor Moon crossover)

--

Haruka had sent a seagull out to Uzugakure. 'I just hope they get the message in time,' she thought. 'Otherwise, I'll just have to use it…'

"I've already sent the message out to the Nine Starlights," she said. "They'll help out against the few surprises Jashin has up his sleeve, although I was hoping he wouldn't resurface."

Everyone was surprised at that last part. "Resurface?" Tsunade asked her. "You mean this happened before?"

Before Haruka could reply, the water from the Valley of the End had changed into what had a female body…only wasn't human.

"I THOUGHT you would resurface," she said.

"What the hell is that?" Both sides of Zetsu yelled.

"It's a Youma," Akito said. "But creatures like this haven't been seen in Uzugakure for years!"

"Which is why I brought this just in case," Haruka said. "URANUS PLANET POWER, MAKE-UP!"

In a burst of light, the Rasenkage's true identity was seen, much to their surprise.

"To defend the world from an injustice," the new form of Haruka said, "I, Sailor Uranus, will make sure your kind STAYS down!"

"Bring it, Senshi bitch!" the water Youma yelled.

They were watching the battle in mild disbelief, and Tsunade, Gaara, and Zetsu stared at Akito.

"I swear," Akito said, "I'm surprised as you are." 'The fangirls are going to spread like wildfire.'

--

Omake 16: Jashin in the Forest. (Parody of…you'll see)

--

A blade of wind had sliced the tree in two, nearly slicing Shikamaru and had split the makeshift pike Hidan was taking watch in.

'Forget possibly,' Shikamaru thought. 'Asuma-sensei IS one of the zombies. I don't care if the Missing Nin is stronger than I am. You've violated my memory of my late sensei, and for that, not even my Mother will restrain me from hurting you because of your gender, you troublesome bitch!'

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Shikamaru yelled, his shadow pulsing with anger. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THESE MOTHERFUCKING JASHIN ZOMBIES IN THIS MOTHERFUCKING FOREST!" In a blitz of anger that would make even Orochimaru cringe in fear, he had used his shadow to form twin blades and sliced the zombies' heads off.

Hotaru (as Sailor Saturn, as spoofed in the previous omake) and Kaori Yume (as Mistress Nine, for the same reason) had sensed the deadly shadow energy.

In Konoha, Shikaku Nara had feared the worst.

"What is it, honey?" Yoshino Nara asked him.

"I pity the fool who pissed Shikamaru off," he said. Yoshino was shocked at that as well. It was a well-known fact that the Naras were lazy and unmotivated, but when someone angered one of them, their ancestory takes over and they go in a berserk rage, for their ancestor showed a similar rage.

Who was their ancestor?

Samuel…L…Jackson. Plain and simple.

--

OC Bios:

Haruka Uzumaki, aka, Uranus Knight.

Age: 29 years, going on thirty.

Gender: Female.

Occupation: Uranus Knight of the Nine Starlights, current Rasenkage.

Relatives: Kushina Uzumaki (sister, deceased), Tayuya Uzumaki (niece), Karin Uzumaki (niece), and Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze (nephew).

Profile: A veteran Kunoichi whose temper matched that of her sister's, Haruka is basically the swords-woman of the group and the only one who was made their Rasenkage. After finding out that her nephew was still alive and tortured, she wanted to shatter the treaty between Uzu and Konoha and start another Secret Ninja War, but Naruto had changed that with his passion to change Konoha as Hokage. Her sexuality can be either bisexual or gay, but she is the only known woman who had subscribed to the late Toad Sage's books, much to the embarassment of her nephew and the disbelief of the Fifth Hokage, who was unaware that such perverseness existed.

Affinity: Earth and Water.

Specialization: Space Sword style.

Signature Jutsu: Uzumaki Secret Earth Jutsu: Shaking World.

Hotaru Tsubaki, aka, Deadly Saturn.

Age: 18 years.

Gender: Female.

Occupation: Spiral Reaper of the Nine Starlights.

Relatives: Akiha Tsubaki (Missing-Nin).

Profile: When she was young, her mother had comitted treason through summoning dead people, resulting in her exile. That was when she was six. Now a powerful Kunoichi, she had taken her family style of the Silent Reaper and made a name outside the disgraced title her mother once had, and went as the Whirlpool's Death Messenger. Her chakra, due to a birth defect, matches that of the Two-Tailed Cat's, but her Chakra Control is that of a Chuunin's.

Affinity: Water and Lightning.

Specialization: Double-ended Scythe.

Signature Jutsu: Secret Jutsu: Shinigami's Silent Blade.

Akiha Tsubaki, aka, Kaori Yume.

Age: 42 years, yet looks like she's 21 thanks to dark magic.

Gender: Female.

Occupation: Uzugakure Missing-Nin and Jashin Priestess.

Relatives: Hotaru Tsubaki (possibly disowned).

Profile: A Double-S-Rank Missing Nin that would put anyone on Akatsuki to shame (she even trained Hidan himself), Akiha, or Kaori as she's now called, had used her Necromancy to create a zombie army through Hidan's kills. In secret, she, Orochimaru, and Madara were waiting for this moment to surface while banding with other Missing Nin from other Hidden Villages (separate from Akatsuki), creating the Jashin Knights. Why no one was informed was because Akatsuki had been the front that Madara had led while Orochimaru and Kabuto had Otogakure and Kaori had to create an army of Dead Ninjas from Hidan's kill count. She's also where Orochimaru had used the Impure Ressurection Jutsu from.

Affinity: Darkness and Water.

Specialization: Necromancy.

Signature Jutsu: Impure Ressurection: Undead Summoning Jutsu and Boss Tyrant Jutsu.

----

(A/n: Wow…All I have to say is…what in God's holy name have I done? Sasuke and Naruto are trapped within a combination of a flying base, Madara, and a trick house while Shikamaru and another OC I've created are facing off against a Missing Nin from UZUGAKURE that's listed as separate from Akatsuki (yet involved with Madara, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Danzo, the Non-Uchiha members dead) who has something similar to Tsunade's Genjutsu (only with black magic) and a zombie army which Shikamaru's decimating, thanks to the Trench Knives and Shadow style Jutsu. However, can he hold it up for long?

I was pretty preoccupied with Naruto the Smash Brother and Pokemon Chronicles, but this idea's been in my head for quite some time. The Nine Starlights, as shown in the omake, are based off the Sailor Senshi and happen to be on par with the Three Sannin of Konoha. Also, I'm under the assumption that everyone from Uzugakure has a Water Affinity as a secondary one.

To tell you the truth, the Dawn of the End happens to be my Jutsu-created version of Buu's own absorption technique, and Naruto and Sasuke happen to be in the same situation Goku and Vegeta are, only Madara's manipulating the playing field. The Earthworm Chase scene is based off of Itachi and Kisame's escape from the Mountain Toad stomach…and it's pretty gross what Sasuke burned with a purified version of Amaterasu.

As for Itachi vs the Crabs (It's best not known), it was based off the Kingdom Hearts II scene where Axel saved Sora, Donald, and Goofy from the attacking Nobodies. This story is rated mature for a REASON, people. Itachi happens to be the only unwilling member of what Naruto and Sasuke will face off against in the future.

For those who don't mind my sadistic humor, read and review. The Shin Mangekyou technique poll is officially CLOSED, and the Soul Endurance poll will be OPEN! Until then, I'll see you later.)


End file.
